President Parker explains the
strategy behind recent program
reductions in relation to
sustainable excellence.

Sue and Lee Piepho found a lot
to love at Sweet Briar. Their
generous gift will help to preserve
all of the things that have come
to mean so much to them.

Class notes, 2011 spotlights,
commencement and more

On the Quad

Q&A with the President

Giving Back

Alumnae Focus

DEAR

FRIENDS:

T

he rituals of Commencement
and Reunion that close each
academic year are wonderfully
satisfying. In the span of just a
few days we celebrate first the
young women who have earned the roses
they will proudly bear throughout their
lives, and then the alumnae whose life
stories exemplify the enduring value of a
Sweet Briar education.
In this issue of the magazine — as in
every issue — you’ll find profiles of Sweet
Briar women doing remarkable things.
We’re especially proud to present this year’s
alumnae award winners, Distinguished
Alumna Theresa Pike Tomlinson ’87 and
Outstanding Alumnae Diane Dalton ’67
and Nancy Hudler Keuffel ’62.
You’ll also find an interview in which I
address some frequently asked questions
about the curriculum changes Sweet Briar
has recently announced. (At sbc.edu there is
a companion video of the interview on
which the article is based, if you’re
interested in more detail.) Sweet Briar is
taking responsible and thoughtful steps to
ensure the long-term sustainability of the
academic excellence that has meant so much
to all readers of this magazine. That has
required that we make some difficult
decisions. I am extraordinarily proud of the
way Sweet Briar has responded to this
challenge: collegially, thoughtfully, frankly,
and with an eye always to the experience of
our students.

Taken all together, the articles in this
issue illustrate the many ways Sweet Briar is
making tangible progress on the goals of the
Plan for Sustainable Excellence while
continuing to support student and faculty
achievement. Whether the focus is on our
“Landscape for Learning” — featured in the
pieces on Joel Salatin’s lecture, rider Greer
Gordon and the late dairyman Jan Osinga
— or on “Expanding Whom We Serve” by
reaching out to high school students
interested in engineering and to middle
school runners, or on using “digitally
sophisticated” tools such as Facebook to
reach out to Sweet Briar’s friends across the
globe, or on increasing enrollment and
adjusting instructional staffing to achieve a
sustainable student-faculty ratio, Sweet Briar
is moving forward. Meanwhile, from firstyear students to faculty authors, the vital
and exciting intellectual community on
campus continues to work its magic.
At Reunion I summarized all this and
more in my “State of the Campus” update.
That presentation was livestreamed, and
immediately afterwards I received several
emails from alumnae who had enjoyed
participating virtually. You can find the full
presentation at sbc.edu/live, in case you’d
like to learn more.
Now, here on campus, we begin the
joyful process of preparing to welcome a
new generation of students to the campus. I
hope that all of you will be enjoying an
equally productive, refreshing and peaceful
summer.

Jo Ellen Parker

SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE MAGAZINE POLICY
The magazine aims to present interesting, thought-provoking
material. Publication of material does not indicate endorsement
of the author’s viewpoint by the magazine or College. The
Sweet Briar College Magazine reserves the right to edit and,
when necessary, revise all material that it accepts for
publication. Contact us anytime!

"I have been able to participate
in multiple organizations,
including the Student
Government Association, Riding
Council, the Sweet Tones and the
Traditions Committee. Through
these, I was able to secure
leadership positions, learn how to
organize groups and events, learn
how to work with group financials,
and also run elections, tests and
even events, all for the entire
campus. I also have my own horse
in the stable here and I have
participated on two of the riding
teams offered at Sweet Briar. I
was able to meet women at all
different levels and in all different
facets of riding. I have learned
about horse care, and the
program has taught me to be an
independent, competent
horsewoman. I absolutely love
having my horse so close to me
and knowing he is in the capable
hands of the riding staff and
instructors."
â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Greer Gordon '12,
a double major in psychology
and English/creative writing

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

6

Empowering Elementary
and Middle School Girls
IN MAY, SWEET BRIAR PARTNERED
again with Girls on the Run to bring 300
regional elementary and middle school girls to
campus. “Sweet Briar and Girls on the Run share
some core values — values about empowerment
and achievement for girls and women,” says
President Parker. “It’s moving to watch the
runners cross the finish line to the cheers of the
crowd. Holla holla, Girls on the Run.”

A Fringe Landscape
IN FEBRUARY, SWEET BRIAR’S ART
COMMUNITY celebrated its third biannual
Fringe Festival. Centered on the College’s
“landscape for learning,” the festival
featured several outdoor events, as well as
a number of music and dance
performances, a puppet show and
stand-up comedy. Highlights
included Sweet Briar’s first
concert musical, “Baby,” and a
poetry reading set against the
backdrop of the exhibit “This
Green Earth” in Pannell Gallery.

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SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Local Rocker

!"#$s S%& B'( W)*
LYNCHBURG MUSICIAN JEFF CARL VISITED
campus just in time for Valentine’s Day. A buzzing
crowd of students and off-campus guests gathered
for the WNRS student radio-sponsored concert in

Pizza with Parker

IN FEBRUARY, NEW TRANSFER STUDENTS
gathered at Sweet Briar House for the annual “Pizza
with Parker” event. They spent the evening chatting
with President Parker about their first few weeks at
Sweet Briar.

Prothro. To advertise for his show, Jeff released his
own version of “Sweet Briar Woman” on YouTube.

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

8

REMEMBERING DAIRYMAN

Jan Ype Osinga

IN LAST ISSUE’S “YOU WENT TO SWEET BRIAR IF. … ” ONE THEME
repeated again and again: fond recollections of cows, fresh milk and
yogurt. As a community, we mourn the loss of the man who helped make
those memories possible. Jan Ype Osinga passed away on Tuesday, Feb.
28, 2012, at the age of 85.

by Jennifer McManamay
9

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

“Mr. O was bigger than life, he
owned the room when he walked in,”
says Nancy Herr, who grew up on Dairy
Road with the Osinga children. “He was
always happy to see you, always asked
about people. He was extremely blunt,
but that was his upbringing. I can still
hear him saying, ‘Vell, Nancy …’ ”
Jan arrived at Sweet Briar in 1953
with his wife, Douwina, to work as a
dairy herdsman. They left five years later,
but returned in 1961 and Jan resumed
running the dairy. In 1965, he became
the Sweet Briar Farm manager until his
retirement in 1990. He continued
running the dairy part time until it
closed in 1994.
Jan loved his work, the land and his
herd. He was a consummate dairyman
and revered the life of a farmer. It’s what
drew him to the U.S. from the
Netherlands, where he was born in the
town of Woudsend in 1927. After
serving in the Dutch army, he graduated
from Rykslandbouw Agricultural
College and attended the agricultural
exchange program at Purdue University.
He pursued his passion at Sweet
Briar. In 2007 he released a small
memoir called Sweet Briar Dairy 19531994: The Best Years of My Life.
Although appreciative of Sweet Briar for
his 40 years working the farm and dairy,
he writes that the day in 1994 when the
dairy herd was auctioned was one of the
saddest of his life.
It was a full life. He and Douwina
— the farm bookkeeper, secretary and
sometimes field worker — raised three
children, Nelly Martha Branson, Ieke
Marie Scully and John Harold Osinga.
A daughter, Henrietta Irene, died at the
age of 3.
Nelly ’75 and Ieke ’78 both
graduated from Sweet Briar, while John
earned his degree in dairy science from
Virginia Tech. It was Ieke’s idea to
expand Jan’s yogurt hobby into Dutch
Yoghurt Inc., a company supplying
about 100 college dining services,
grocers and health food stores. Jan was
already making the delicacy for campus
and local customers from cultures he’d
brought from the Netherlands years
before.

The yogurt is now part of Sweet
Briar lore. Jan is remembered for it, but
not more than for his tenor voice and
exuberant singing. He was a member of
the Amherst Presbyterian Church Choir,
but people heard him sing everywhere,
especially in the dairy barns where the
acoustics were good.
College grounds superintendent
and fellow choir member Donna Meeks
says he loved to tell of the time he
sucked in a bee while practicing “O
Holy Night” on a tractor in the fields.
“That was his signature song. He
used to pack the house for the
Christmas Eve candlelight service.”
Jan was a storyteller and natural
entertainer, who even acted in College
plays. He led local school children on
field trips to the dairy.
“Dad used to joke with the children
and ask them if they knew how milk
came from a cow, and he would pump
the tail like a water pump, and then say
that another cow was capable of
producing chocolate milk,” Nelly recalls.
He gave his own children
confidence in themselves, Ieke says,
remembering a day he told her to drive
the tractor home from Girl Scouts. “My
dad never told me I couldn’t do
something because I was a girl or a
woman, not that day nor into the Dutch
Yoghurt days. He would put so much
trust into us that you had no choice but
to live up to it.”
But Nelly says he was like that with
everyone. “He took every person as an
individual, and recognized that not
everyone was given the same
opportunities in life. Although working
with folks who barely had an elementary
school education, and I do mean no
education beyond the second or fourth
grades, he recognized their ability to
think, and respected them for it.”
Jan became an American citizen
and proudly flew the flag in front of his
Dairy Road home. He was active in the
Amherst community and served his
profession tirelessly as a member of
numerous local, state and regional farm
and dairy associations. He was especially
proud of his 25 years on the board of
the Maryland & Virginia Milk

Osinga's daughter at the dairy in the 1970s

Producers Cooperative Association and
his membership at church and in the
Ruritan Club.
He always spoke his mind, and the
passing of the farm and dairy saddened
him. Jan the farmer simply wanted the
land to be used.
Near the end of his memoir, he
writes, “… it is encouraging to see how
little by little the academic world is
coming to the rescue of the remnants of
the Farm.”
In the next sentence, he worries
about a fast-spreading weed called
Johnson grass, which, no longer
contained by grazing, threatens to get a
“foothold on the beautiful campus.”
Driving around campus, he writes,
“old and former barns are still a silent
witness of the past, part of the Sweet
Briar Farm History, while the open
fields, once planted in hay, corn and
small grain will remain a constant
reminder of the past.”
It is no wonder that stories about
Jan and the dairy quickly caught
President Jo Ellen Parker’s ear when she
arrived in 2009. She came to know Jan
and Douwina.
“From the moment I arrived I was
curious to meet him,” Jo Ellen says.
“Every time someone spoke to me of Jan
Osinga, they did so with a big and
affectionate grin. Once I had the chance
to know him myself, I could certainly
see why. I have rarely met anyone so
vividly full of life. Jan Osinga loved the
land and the College he served with
such distinction, and Sweet Briar is a
better place for it.” ■

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

10

Would You, Could You, Eat

‘Green’ Eggs?

11

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

LOCAL FOOD ADVOCATE AND OWNER OF
Polyface Farm Joel Salatin visited Sweet Briar in January to
talk about his book “Folks, This Ain’t Normal.” He also
cooked for students, faculty and guests in the E.B. Room
kitchen before his evening lecture. Armed with organic eggs
from his farm in Swoope, Va., and a handful of Campbell
County goat cheese, he was there to illustrate his point: It’s
not that difficult to return to a more historically normal
way of eating. Food doesn’t have to be loaded with
unpronounceable additives and transported 1,500 miles
from farm to fork, he says.
Joel accompanied his buttery omelets with raw milk (it
was legal) and pure “cold-squeezed” apple juice from a
Shenandoah Valley farm. Associate professor of
environmental studies Rebecca Ambers brought in
homemade breads, artisanal cheeses, and chili made with
local meats and vegetables from her own garden. Bonnie
Kestner, associate professor of physical education, and
Rebecca co-sponsored Joel’s visit. Bonnie covers his
“beyond-organic” farming philosophy in her class
“Nutritional Challenges of the 21st Century.”

5

Sweet Briar Wins
Five CASE Awards
SWEET BRIAR COLLEGE RECENTLY
received five CASE awards for several
of its publications. CASE, the Council
for Advancement and Support of
Education, honored the College with
an Award of Excellence for its feature
and news writing. Sweet Briar also was
named a Grand Award Winner in four
categories: total programs
(publications programs), magazines
(alumni magazines), audiovisual
communications (films and
videotapes) and printed publications
(student recruitment).

“Sweet Briar College’s
recruitment materials are fun, clean
and crisp,” the judges said, adding
that the “message of a women’s
academic and creative college comes
through consistently.”
CASE’s North American districts
offer awards programs to recognize
outstanding programs and individuals.
Virginia is part of the Southeast
District III, which also includes
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,
Mississippi, North Carolina, South
Carolina and Tennessee.

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

12

FOR THE

Granger

Chang

Olivera

Adams

Kirkwood

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SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Academic
Record
SONIA OLIVERA, ASSISTANT
professor of modern languages and
literatures, was invited by the Council for
International Exchange of Scholars to serve
on the U.S. Fulbright Regional
Committee, an honor bestowed to only
four representatives of the Southern Cone.
Research by Claudia Chang, professor
of anthropology, is featured in the
exhibition â&#x20AC;&#x153;Nomads and Networks: The
Ancient Art and Culture of Kazakhstanâ&#x20AC;? at
the Institute for the Study of the Ancient
World at New York University. Displaying
artifacts from burial mounds in the Altai
Mountains of eastern Kazakhstan. More
information can be found at isaw.nyu.edu
Rob Granger, professor of chemistry,
will publish a modernized textbook on
chemical instrumentation through Oxford
University Press. The book also contains
chapters by Hank Yochum, Jill Granger
and Karl Sienerth (Elon University).
Keith Adams, adjunct professor of
anthropology, is traveling to western
Turkey this summer to serve as the project
photographer for the Central Lydian
Archaeological Survey.
Professor of mathematical sciences Jim
Kirkwood recently published his book
Mathematical Physics with Partial
Differential Equations (Academic Press).

“What Happens
If I Do This…?”
TWENTY-FIVE SIXTH-GRADE GIRLS FROM NELSON MIDDLE
School in Lovingston came to Sweet Briar in February for the first
“Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.” The event was part of National
Engineering Week (Feb. 19-25).
While Sweet Briar has hosted high school girls before, this marks
the first time 11- and 12-year-olds were invited to put their
engineering skills to the test.
“Many of them are scared of science because they think it’s a
boy thing,” says Vickie Mays, math teacher at Nelson Middle
School. And yet, she says, the girls had been excited about this
day. “I actually have a lot of boys that were upset that they
couldn’t come.”
The event focused on building an audio speaker.
The girls were each given small plastic
containers that held a speaker kit. The kit
contained all the necessary elements for
building a simple speaker: one plastic
cup, one Styrofoam cup, one piece of
sandpaper, one small square magnet,
one speaker jack, insulated wire and
two rubber bands. It also came with
detailed instructions and pictures.
In addition, the engineering
department provided a variety of
miscellaneous items students could use in
the process, such as colorful paper plates,
cupcake holders and
wire whisks.
“We want to encourage them to be
creative,” says Hank Yochum, director of the
Margaret Jones Wyllie ’45 Engineering
Program. “We want them to say, ‘What
happens if I do this … ?’ ”
Throughout the two-hour session, Hank
and assistant engineering professor Bethany
Brinkman, as well as student assistants Kate
Fanta ’15 and Kelsey Barta ’15, roamed
from table to table to help the girls build
their kits, and to explain how
electromagnetism works.

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

14

1

FIRST-YEAR FOLLOW

+--.

As promised, we checked in periodically with the four students we profiled last fall
to see how their first year at Sweet Briar went. Megan, Rosie, Rani and Sixtine
reported more ups than downs over the past two semesters, and each looks forward
with excitement to an even busier and more fulfilling sophomore year.

Rosalie Purvis
Megan Kelly
Cascade Senior High School,
Everett, Wash.
MEGAN RECENTLY MADE HER
double major in German and
international affairs official. She also
took a directed-study Korean
language course with Professor John
Goulde, which she sees as a good fit
for her plans to pursue education and
refugee work. Megan applied for
several scholarships to study abroad in
Korea next year, and when we last spoke was
waiting to hear about them.
She’s stayed busy lifeguarding for the Vixens and
the Amherst County High School swim team, but
found time to help start up the Sweet Potters, a Harry
Potter club that hosts the occasional quidditch match.
She is the vice president of the Environmental Club
and, when we spoke to her, was running for that office
with the German Club. If she’s not in Korea next year,
she will live in Randolph on the Eco Hall.
Megan says it took a while, but managing
schoolwork, finding a social life, even adjusting to a
roommate, all fell into place. After the first semester, she
made a conscious effort to attend events on campus and
make friends.
“With these new friendships I am actually really
busy socially. So between friends, events and homework
I am actually working now to make ‘me’ time.”

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SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

homeschooled,
Montgomery City, Mo.
ROSIE’S YEAR WENT
pretty much according to
plan — a good plan being
essential when you’re training to
be an Olympic athlete. She remains
determined to pursue her degree in engineering,
loves the classes, and has been working for Professor
Hank Yochum in his optics lab to gain experience.
Next year she hopes to earn credit for the work.
In November Rosie competed in the Modern
Pentathlon Junior World Championships in
Buenos Aires, Argentina, then went to Colorado
over the winter break for a Modern Pentathlon
World Cup qualifier. She made the cut, and
competed for the Cup in Charlotte, N.C., in
March.
Although the World Cup was a qualifying
event for the 2012 Olympic Games in London,
Rosie’s sights are set on Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
“I had personal bests in all of my events,
which was very exciting,” she says. “This is the
best I have done in an international competition
yet. I was able to see where I stand compared to
the best athletes in the world — which means
numerous Olympians. My training is definitely
on the right track.”
Modern pentathlon includes events in
fencing, swimming, riding, and combined
running and pistol shooting.

Sixtine Abrial

EunYong “Rani” Jang
Pyeongtaek International
Christian School, South Korea
RANI VIEWED HER FIRST YEAR AS AN
exploration, an opportunity to discover new
interests and passions. “I want to see what I am
truly passionate about and what I am truly good at,”
she told us.
This thoughtful approach was part of her
decision to attend a liberal arts college and she
appreciates the supportive environment she has
found at Sweet Briar.
“I am positively shocked by the faculty and the
administrative staff’s efforts to help students with all
their best,” Rani says. “After listening to some of my
friends’ experiences who went to big state
universities, I am glad I chose Sweet Briar.”
Rani quickly developed a circle of friends —
last fall we dropped in on a dinner party jamming
to “K-pop” music and sampling her authentic
Korean cooking. She is her class treasurer, but
otherwise hasn’t joined any clubs, so she is looking
forward to being more involved in the College’s cocurricular life next year.
This summer, Rani has a job as a translator and
English tutor. She's also taking courses at Korea's
Yonsei University. They include economics — a
favorite subject, she says — and a music class on Kpop. "Right now Korean pop is ... setting a new
music trend called the Korean Wave in Asia and
furthermore in the USA and European countries ...
I am really excited to take those classes."

Princess Anne High School for
International Baccalaureate diploma,
Virginia Beach, Va.
SIXTINE EXCELLED ACADEMICALLY DURING
her first two semesters and she has a particularly busy
summer ahead of her. First, it’s off to NATO
headquarters in Brussels, where she has lined up an
internship to work with professional international
conference interpreters. It is her ambition to be an
interpreter, and this is her chance to try her hand at it.
In June, she heads to England for the Virginia
Program at Oxford.
Pursuing her love of languages, Sixtine declared her
major in German in the spring, while considering a
second and possibly third major in French and history.
“I’m going to talk to the interpreters at NATO and see
what they recommend,” she says.
Socially, she says there’s a lot to do. “It’s just a
matter of not worrying about homework for a few
hours.”
As for the absence of men on campus, “it gave me
the opportunity to focus on my academics, get used to
college life and take time to settle in,” she says.
And there are the weekend trips to the Virginia
Military Institute, she points out. “Problem solved!”
Sixtine applied for transfer to the University of St.
Andrews in Scotland because her parents are moving
back to France from Virginia Beach this summer. She
learned in March that she doesn’t have to go.
“I’ll not be transferring to St. Andrews, which
means I’ll be staying at Sweet Briar College, which I am
really, really, really happy about, actually!”

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

16

CAVERS FACE TO FACE WITH

Bat Epidemic
For those who like dark
places and clambering
between rocks, caves
are exciting already.

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SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

BUT IF THERE’S ONE THING THAT CAN UP
their wow-factor, it’s bats. Recently, Sweet Briar
students saw both during a spelunking trip to
Island Ford Cave in Covington. Director of
outdoor programs Tasha Purcell and instructors
Jordanne Ryan ‘12 and Victoria Litos ‘13 led the
excursion. They joined up with Sweet Briar’s
naturalist-in-residence, Mike Hayslett, and bat
educator Bonnie Miles, who was recently
recognized for her work by Bat Conservation
International in the winter issue of BATS
magazine.
The Tyvek-clad spelunkers discovered 21 of
the small creatures and noticed that one was

clearly sick with white-nose syndrome, named
for the white fungus evident on the muzzles and
wings of affected bats. To prevent the spread of
WNS, the BCI decontamination protocol
requires cavers to wear disposable coveralls.
White-nose syndrome is the first disease known
to target a hibernating animal, Bonnie says.

The fungus enters their system and interferes
with hibernation, usually leading to the animal’s
death.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports
that the disease was first documented at four
sites in eastern New York in the winter of 2006
and 2007. Since then, WNS has spread rapidly
to multiple sites throughout the Northeast,
affecting 19 U.S. states and five Canadian
provinces. Nineteen species of bats have been
infected with the disease, and more than six
million bats have died from it so far.
“That equates to between seven hundred
and thirteen hundred metric tons of insects not

eaten each summer,” Bonnie says, alluding to
the ecological consequences of the disease.
While WNS wasn’t the focus of the caving
trip, it was a poignant illustration to students
who had talked about the disease before, but
never experienced it first-hand. ■

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

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SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Sweet Briar
Women
in Force
in D.C.
Sweet Briar women across the country know what it means to be part of a
special network. Ask any
alumna, from Palmetto, Fla.,
to Battle Ground, Wash., and
she’ll tell you that Sweet Briar
College is more than just a
community. It’s family. Yet, few
places are as strong in
numbers and as tightly knit as
Washington, D.C. Just three
hours north of campus, the
nation’s capital boasts a
staggering 951 alumnae.

by Janika Carey and Jennifer McManamay
SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

20

THIS SPRING, WE TRAVELED TO
the heart of D.C. to talk to some of these
accomplished Sweet Briar women about
their remarkable careers, and about the
unique ties that connect each and every one
of them. We spoke with lawmakers,
women’s rights activists, journalists, CEO’s,
scientists and national security advisors.
For some, life has been full of
surprises, with career paths unfolding into
uncharted territories. Others never
waivered from long-held dreams. Their
jobs, politics and backgrounds are as
diverse as their liberal arts education. Yet all
of them are making a difference in the
world, whether they’re shaping policy,
teaching the next generation, defending the
country or improving their own

Samira Hossain ’05:
Senior Accounting
Assistant,
International
Monetary Fund (IMF)
“In the waiting room
[in the place of my
first job] I met three
other applicants, all
male from Ivy League
schools, and I was
the only one with a
liberal arts
background. … My
liberal arts education
made me feel I could
apply what I learned
to any job. … The
small school
environment and
small classes helped
me become a better
team player,
something significant
in any job.”

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neighborhoods. And they all say it started
right here, at Sweet Briar.
But what, we asked in a series of
questions, is so special about Sweet Briar?
Many cited “the network,” the connection
that helped them get started in their careers
or that they can rely on for support. They
talked about professors who enlightened
and classmates who inspired. And they
spoke of the all-important all-women
advantage.
“Those four years at Sweet Briar were
the most empowering of my life,” says
Susan Scanlan ’69, one of the most
influential alumnae we spoke to. Susan is
chair of the National Council of Women’s
Organizations and president of the
Women’s Research & Education Institute.

Yolanda Lynn Davis
Saunders ’96:
Advisory Scientist,
Strategic Analysis Inc.
“Attending a women’s
college gave me the
opportunity to learn who
I was as a person,
including how important
it is for women to be in
leadership positions and
assert their authority in
order to break through
the glass ceiling,
specifically in the areas of
science and government.
Very few people look like
me in this career field,
and I’m perfectly fine
with that because Sweet
Briar has taught me to be
comfortable in my own
skin and to excel
wherever I go.”

“Sweet Briar gave me breathing room
to build lifelong friendships, to establish
priorities and to grow in grace and grit.”
Almost 30 years later, Yolanda Lynn
Davis Saunders ’96 felt it too, although her
science career took a far different track in
government service. Today she is one of
numerous alumnae who support the
Department of Homeland Security.
“I am one of only a few women to
work in the area of chemical/biological
defense and it is quite obvious when I travel
abroad or attend meetings,” Yolanda says.
“Very few people look like me in this career
field, and I’m perfectly fine with that,
because Sweet Briar has taught me to be
comfortable in my own skin and to excel
wherever I go.” ■

Susan Scanlan ’69:
Chair, National Council
of Women’s
Organizations (NCWO);
President, Women’s
Research and Education
Institute (WREI)
“Skills I honed at Sweet
Briar that I didn’t realize
would be important —
presenting myself with
confidence, being
comfortable with public
speaking, learning to be
inclusive, writing thankyou letters, following up
on every opportunity
that presents itself,
taking a risk — turned
out to be key in
distinguishing myself
from the competition for
jobs or honors or choice
assignments.”

Jesse K. Martin ’02:
Associate, Troutman
Sanders LLP
“Sweet Briar
provided countless
opportunities. I
completed two
majors, participated
in two varsity sports,
studied in Seville,
Spain, for a semester
and participated in
[the] Washington
Semester at American
University in the
District. [Now,] I look
out for the health and
welfare of other
women in all aspects
of my life. My hope is
to generate
opportunities so that
they are positioned to
fulfill their potential if
they choose to
embrace it.”

Michela English ’71:
President and CEO,
Fight For Children
“I attended Sweet
Briar in a period of
turmoil (amid
protests against the
Vietnam War, civil
rights, integration of
Southern schools,
etc.) and left filled
with social reform
zeal — wanting to
make the world a
better place. Being
at a small, supportive
women’s college like
Sweet Briar really
allowed me to
develop leadership
skills and build my
self-confidence.”

Carolyn Leddy ’98:
National Security
Advisor to U.S. Sen. Jon
Kyl, Republican whip
“I treasure, and carry
with me each day, the
close relationships and
the ‘dare to be
different’ mentality that
I nurtured at Sweet
Briar. It definitely
nurtured my fierce
independence and
confidence to speak my
mind.”

Alison Stockdale ’00:
Drug Program
Manager, Department
of the Interior

“Now that I am
“I change the world
twelve years out of
each and every day by college, nothing
actively engaging in
Sweet Briar women
my community,
do surprises me
adapting to the everanymore. ... My
present social and
reaction now when I
economic changes and read or hear
transforming the world something amazing
by my active
from an alumna is,
participation. These
‘Yup, that sounds
are the core values
about right.’”
that Sweet Briar taught
me; to be a leader of
tomorrow.”

Phoebe Brunner
Peacock ’68:
Classics Specialist,
Library of Congress
(retired in 2011)
“I know that I can
always find a contact
through Sweet
Briar for virtually any
need. The network is
broad in scope,
geographically and
professionally.”

“Going to a women’s
college allowed me to
form lifelong
friendships with
incredibly strong,
intelligent and lovely
women. In a maledominated industry,
the strength of
character and
education I received
serves me well every
day.”

“Our ability to change
the world comes from
where we started —
our education and
experience at Sweet
Briar is life-changing,
so in turn, when we
have this unique
experience to
constantly challenge
ourselves, our
worldview changes. To
me, success in the
professional sense is
when we are good
stewards of our gifts,
and we cultivate our
gifts to ensure that our
communities are
flourishing. I know that
in my circles of Sweet
Briar friends, each
person is working
towards that goal.”

Kristin Chapdelaine ’08:
Account Supervisor,
Edelman Public Relations
“It is reassuring to know
that you will be a part of
the SBC community for
life.”

“If I’m not working on
$10 billion problems
every day, we’re not
tackling big enough
problems in Homeland
security.”

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Professor marches
to his own beat
G/-0y? N1 234y
JOHN ASHBROOK TURNS MILDLY
sheepish describing his latest book.
Still in progress, it focuses on
the European Union expansion into
Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

by Jennifer McManamay
SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

24

“This project critically — and scathingly — analyzes the EU’s
philosophy and actions concerning expansion into this formerly
communist region,” John says. “It also critiques the elitist and urban
nature of integration.”
He is not apologetic, but acutely aware of the reaction he will
stir. “My conclusions will be provocative and controversial to say the
least,” he says.
He’s a bit gun-shy about how his views are received among his
colleagues. While he’ll be the first to admit you can’t trust
stereotypes, let’s just say former presidential candidate Rick
Santorum wouldn’t pick John out of a crowd as an intellectual snob.
Indeed, Professor Gerry Berg considered him the diversity
candidate when the history department hired him as a visiting
assistant professor in 2005.
“He’s a modern Europe historian who, unlike most modern
Europe historians at a small school, specializes in Eastern Europe,
and that’s out of the mainstream,” Gerry says.
“Along those same lines, he has a unique background for
someone in academe. I think he is the only faculty member at Sweet
Briar who is a lifetime member of the [National Rifle Association].
He has a point of view that isn’t representative of mainstream
academe. That is a product of an independent critical mind and
that’s ultimately what we look for.”
John is unabashedly hard right, politically, economically and
socially. That is, he believes in small government except in national
defense and policing, mostly hands-off foreign policy, minimally
regulated economic policy, individual responsibility, and welfare only
in the form a fair tax system.
On religion, he is a “secularist who defends the right to believe.”
And guns? “Everyone, everywhere for any reason should be
packing a firearm.”

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In conversation, colleagues and students say John loves to stir
the pot. “I think he does this because he is interested in seeing how
people will react, even more so how far people will go in response,”
says Theron McLeod ’09, a former student who today regards him as
a good friend.
Around the faculty lunch table he “talks trash” to be funny, says
biologist Janet Steven. But as someone who sits left of center
politically, she appreciates that his opinions are fact-based and
logical.
“History was never my best subject, but if I had had John as a
professor I might have thought otherwise. I really like hearing his
perspective on current or historical events because he explains the
political and social factors that helped cause them.”
Once past first impressions, John seems to have a warming
effect on people even when they disagree with him. That was
Theron’s experience.
“I think, like most people who first meet him, I was surprised
by his demeanor, personality and appearance,” she says. “However it
did not take long for me to know that I would like him immensely.”
When it comes to persona, the only thing professorial about
him is his spectacles. Trouser suspenders are dapper on some, but on
John they really are there to hold his pants up. His wife hates them.
He favors a camouflage jacket in cold weather. His gun collection
numbers around 30 pistols, shotguns and rifles, including an AK-47.
His wife doesn’t like those, either.
In 1991, at 13, she spent several months in a basement during
Croatia’s war for independence from Yugoslavia. Her family escaped
on a train running at night with its lights off. Ten years later she met
John in the capital, Zagreb, while he was finishing his doctoral
dissertation as a Fulbright fellow.
Ironically, he turned down a teaching Fulbright in Croatia for

spring 2012. The move isn’t good for a career in academia, he
admits, but he did it for his wife and son.
The books on his office shelves share space with portions of his
other two collections, model and toy military vehicles and military
headwear — real helmets and hats from numerous countries
spanning more than 100 years of war.
Militarism is one of John’s lifelong interests and it has fueled his
passion for history.
He speaks, often loudly, with the Southern Appalachian dialect
of Lebanon, the small coal-mining town in far Southwest Virginia
where he grew up. Raised by his mother after his parents split, his
father’s family was nonetheless an influence on him.
“My dad’s family was redneck, but I never saw that word as
particularly negative,” he says. “They were not really cultured, I
guess. My grandfather had been, in his younger years, a
semiprofessional thief, a moonshiner, a fighter, and all his friends
were like that. I grew up in that circle. It was actually, even though I
was from a broken home, it was pretty enjoyable to be around
those folks.”
While he appreciated the plainspoken people and their hardliving ways, he wasn’t about to follow his father into the coal mines.
He wanted to be a helicopter gunner, but it was 1987 and the
Army didn’t need gunners with less than perfect eyesight. So, he
went to college.
He enrolled at Radford University where, by his junior year, he
suspected he wanted to pursue graduate studies in European history,
particularly Germany.
“I had that perception that the German people were sort of
militaristic and that appealed to me, since I’ve always had an interest
in militarism and war,” he says. “But that was just a stereotype that
graduate school soon taught me was something that was not
necessarily true.”
John first visited Croatia in 1995 to witness what he thought
would be the “last European war of my lifetime,” he says.
From the start, he felt a kinship with the Croats and Serbs.
“The hard drinking, hard fighting, easy laughter, and importance of
local and regional identities and history as well as the ubiquitous
patriotism reminded me of rural Appalachia,” he says.
By then he was at Michigan State working on his master’s in
European history. He later went to the University of Florida for his
Ph.D. to specialize in modern Eastern European history.
His research eventually focused on how and why Croatian
politicians and elites manipulated identity differences between
regionalists and nationalists — which manifest as urban versus rural
cultures and values — in the debate to join the European Union.
His doctoral dissertation led to his first book, “Buying and Selling
the Istrian Goat: Istrian Regionalism, Croatian Nationalism and EU
Enlargement,” published in 2008.
Seeing how the rural-urban divide emerged in the research,
John undertook his current book to examine whether it would
apply to a larger political organization, such as the European Union
as a whole.

“Initially I came into the project with a very positive opinion of
the EU as a primarily economic union,” he says. “However, since I
began my research in 2008, the evidence suggests that the EU is an
elitist-urbanite project, directed primarily by the more powerful and
larger member states to promote a failed European culture, identity,
social system and mixed economy. I know this sounds like a rant.
But I think all of it is true. And much of the evidence supports it.”
It would be natural, by now, to wonder how John’s persona
translates in the classroom, especially since history is one of Sweet
Briar’s most popular majors. He claims he stole his style from a
professor at Radford who “was crude, rude, outspoken, tough as
nails” and “got results from his students.”
Cristina Keating, a sophomore from Northern Virginia, agrees
with some of that.
“He’s a really good teacher, but he’s not an easy teacher,”
she says.
While he is openly opinionated, “he’s even-handed in the
classroom, and that’s one of the reasons I like him,” Cristina says.
She describes his courses as interactive and entertaining. He
doesn’t distance himself from students, but keeps a “disciplined
classroom.” And he’s always helpful.
“I’m a terrible writer and I’m a history major … ,” she says,
her words trailing off. “He really is always available, and that’s not [a
cliché].”
First-year Rachel Byrd, a Spanish and international affairs
major from Mathews, Va., took “Soviet Russia and Beyond” with
John because her advisor suggested she take something she’d enjoy.
The small, discussion-style course was a completely new but
welcome learning environment for the recent high school grad.
Rachel responded to his “unconstrained and gregarious” nature.
“I do like Dr. Ashbrook as a person because, although he can
be loud and, well, crazy — it’s Ashbrook, though, most people know
this — he was pretty funny and gave us his opinions honestly, which
I respect, and taught us without changing the facts to suit what he
believed.”
Assistant professor of international affairs Spencer Bakich is not
so inclined as John to engage in partisan analysis. Nonetheless, he is
unequivocal in his defense of his colleague’s scholarship and
classroom presence. The two published a paper together in 2010 and
team-taught a course on World War I contrasting the disciplinary
approaches of historians versus political scientists to answer critical
questions about the conflict.
“When it comes to his work, he’s willing to let the chips fall
where they may,” Spencer says.
Further, he says John’s commitment to the intellectual life of
the College is evidenced by the quality and quantity of his own
research and by how much he obviously cares about the work others
are doing.
“It would be easy to caricature John, but it wouldn’t be accurate
or fair,” Spencer says. “The guy’s complex and he’s really good. It’s
his sophistication that makes this place better.” Others must agree.
John made tenure this year. ■

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Use this QR code or visit sbc.edu/magazine to see a
more images and get a glimpse into the classroom.

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SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

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32

A

&

WITH THE PRESIDENT

President Parker explains the strategy behind recent program
reductions in relation to sustainable excellence.
Sweet Briar has historically been proud of its very low
student-faculty ratio. Why is it so important to reach
10-to-1 now?
The current student-faculty ratio is about 6-to-1. Most of the
colleges that we compare ourselves to, both for quality and for
the kind of liberal arts program that we want to maintain, have
student-faculty ratios of between 10-to-1 and 14-to-1.
At 10-to-1, Sweet Briar will still be among the very smallest
and most personal campuses in America, offering a strong
liberal arts program, but it will be able to operate in a more
financially sustainable way.
When we created the strategic plan, the Plan for Sustainable
Excellence, one of the study groups was called “Sustainable Size
and Ratios.” That study group worked with the director of
institutional research to understand institutional characteristics
that would promote financial sustainability for the College.
Those characteristics included things like the relationship
between the annual budget and the size of the endowment,
student-faculty ratio, the proportion and structure of debt,
staff-faculty ratios, and so on. With the leadership of that study
group, the administration worked to describe some of the
financial characteristics of a healthy and sustainable institution.
So, for example, we saw that we need to reach the enrollment
goal of 750 to 800 students. Along with that, we saw we need
to be at about a 10-to-1 student-faculty ratio. We saw that we
need to have an endowment that is approximately three times

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the size of our annual operating budget. So, the 10-to-1 ratio
grew out of analysis of the financial characteristics of a healthy,
sustainable institution and is one of several targets that the plan
identifies.
It’s important to remember that a student-faculty ratio has two
components: one is the size of the faculty and one is the size of
the student body. Even as we make modest reductions to the
size of the faculty, we need to make aggressive increases to the
size of the student body, because we certainly can’t achieve our
target student-faculty ratio only through reductions. We need
to combine modest reductions with enrollment growth.
Do you think having a larger ratio will enhance the
quality of education at Sweet Briar?
I’m sure it will. A slightly larger student body will enrich the
academic experience of the College because it will bring more
perspectives, backgrounds and intellectual energy into Sweet
Briar’s classrooms. At 10-to-1 we can still be very small and will
work very closely together while benefitting from more
wonderful students and their perspectives, experiences,
backgrounds, questions and talents.
How many faculty positions will be eliminated to
reach the 10-to-1 goal?
Two years from now Sweet Briar will have the equivalent of 11
fewer full-time faculty positions than at the start of the 201112 academic year.

Which departments are likely to be affected the most by
faculty reductions?

If the financial situation improves, will any of these
reductions be reconsidered?

The biggest impact of the plan will be on German, which will no
longer be offered as a major. Students who are currently in the
pipeline for the German major, those who’ve already declared that
major, will be able to complete their programs. But no future
students will be able to declare a German major. Another program
being discontinued is the minor in law and society.

No. These reductions are not an emergency response to a particular
budget cycle. They’re changes designed to move Sweet Briar toward
an academic program that’s more sustainable and that will allow
the faculty to move forward with curriculum review and
potentially curriculum renewal as called for in the strategic plan.

Some other programs will be consolidated or combined. Major
programs will continue to be offered, but they may be grouped
together in new configurations. So, for example, the archaeology
and anthropology majors will be combined into a single major.
The two government and international affairs majors will also be
combined. In order to focus on our vibrant and growing
engineering sciences major, we will no longer be offering a major
track in engineering management: however, engineering sciences
students can take courses in management and entrepreneurship
through the business program if that is their area of interest.

Eliminating faculty and programs reduces options for
prospective students. Will this impact enrollment, and
how will Sweet Briar address that problem?
With careful advising and customized work plans, the vast majority
of applicants will find that they can get everything they’re looking
for at Sweet Briar.
Obviously, there may be one or two students specifically
seeking a German major who choose to go elsewhere. But for the
vast majority of students a wide range of attractive options will still
exist.

Why German versus another program?
The dean and the faculty Academic Planning Committee did very
careful research into current and historical enrollments, interest
trends among prospective students, and curricula at peer
institutions. As a result of that study it became apparent that
German was a program that Sweet Briar would have difficulty
sustaining. The strategic decision was to eliminate the German
major, consolidate language offerings around French and Spanish
(because of the signature Junior Year programs in France and
Spain) and actively pursue ways to offer instruction in other
languages through new technologies and collaboration with other
colleges.
When will we see the first reductions go into effect?
This will vary in each case. Some reductions will be the result of
retirements, some will be the result of adjunct faculty contracts
that are not renewed, and some will be determined by the timing
of student completions. The first changes will be in place next year
but the process will continue throughout the next two years as, in
each case, we look at student needs and the specific personnel
issues involved.
Given that these reductions are being phased in, will we
see immediate financial benefits to the College?
The financial benefits will be fully in place in two years. Some
benefits will be felt in the budget a year from now.

One of the strengths of the Sweet Briar curriculum has always been
the ability to customize a student’s program. We have the selfdesigned major and a number of ways to combine major, minor
and certificate programs to produce the course of study that’s going
to help each student advance toward her goals. Virtually all of the
subjects we currently teach are going to remain available. They may
simply be available at different levels or in different combinations
or be offered every other year instead of every year.
Are you concerned that reducing the number of
academic programs weakens the “liberal arts” identity of
the College?
People don’t think about it this way, but originally the liberal arts
tradition started with seven fields of study. Just seven. The
currently dominant curricular structure that emphasizes a wide
number of highly specialized departmental majors is actually more
characteristic, historically, of a research university than of a
traditional liberal arts college. In pruning back some of Sweet
Briar’s offerings to achieve a more streamlined curriculum, you
could argue that we’re actually moving a bit closer to our roots as a
liberal arts college.
What were those seven subjects?
They’re known as the “trivium” and the “quadrivium.” The
trivium includes grammar, rhetoric and logic. The quadrivium
includes music, astronomy, geometry and arithmetic. Together,
these were the studies considered to be fundamental to all human
knowledge and a “liberal” education — that is, an education that
frees the mind from the constraints of the immediate and practical.

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But what about the modern notion of the liberal arts,
which generally includes literature, languages,
philosophy and so forth?
The modern notion of a liberal arts education emphasizes the
ability of a student to move among and between disciplines
representing various areas of human knowledge, developing skills
in critical thinking, reasoning, analysis and expression
fundamental to all. Curriculum is central to this vision of the
liberal arts, but so is a pedagogy that develops active and synthetic
learning, strong advising and a coherent general education
program. The modern definition of a liberal arts college is best
realized by making sure that students experience academic rigor
in a number of disciplines as they move through the curriculum,
being taught by faculty members who insist on active
engagement, critical thinking and creative problem-solving no
matter what subject they teach. Which is exactly what we do so
beautifully at Sweet Briar.

You’ve said that students will be allowed to finish their
programs. Could you be more specific about how that is
going to be accomplished?
This will depend on each individual student, where she is in her
progress and what she needs to accomplish. For example, a
student who’s advanced in German and only needs one more
semester to complete the major may be able to take that here on
campus. Another student may complete her German studies
through study abroad, or she may be able to take a course at a
neighboring institution as part of our regional exchange. If
needed, we may be able to acquire tutoring or other services to
help students meet their goals. With careful timing and
thoughtful advising, it will be possible to be sure that every
student will have the support she needs.
What criteria did the Academic Planning Committee use
to frame its recommendations to the dean?
The role of the Academic Planning Committee was to provide
perspective, advice and analysis to the dean as various curricular
options were considered.
They were looking at not only the major and minor programs but
also at the way departments contribute to general education
requirements, the pattern of students who enroll in those fields

for electives, and at comparative data of what’s commonly
available at similar colleges.
What other actions have been taken or considered to
put the College on more sustainable financial footing
before deciding to reduce academic programs?
In the last three years, Sweet Briar has reduced non-instructional
staff by about 20 percent. We’ve been very aggressive in
combining administrative departments and reviewing all staff
positions in order to make sure that, on the administrative side,
we’re being as frugal and as responsible as possible. We’ve
reviewed everything from purchasing to utilities usage; we’ve
refinanced our debt to lower debt service costs; we’ve examined
the budget annually from top to bottom to make sure that we
find every possible way of ensuring that resources are being
directed to the academic program and not to administrative
overhead or infrastructure. As we approach the question of staff
reduction, we’re looking to increase efficiency of operation, to
increase collaboration across units.
We have retained and indeed increased our commitment to a
strong financial aid program because we know that families
depend on financial aid and that keeping Sweet Briar affordable is
central to our mission. We are deeply grateful to those alumnae
who have supported financial aid with their philanthropy over the
years, and I am always reminding alumnae of how essential
support for financial aid is to the intellectual health of the College
and the achievements of our students.

Is there a point where you would say that, regardless of
how many students we have, there are certain core
functions that need to be met, and further streamlining
doesn’t make sense?
There are core functions on every campus that need to be
fulfilled, whether you have one student or 10,000 students.
Obviously, you can’t cut staff to the point where those functions
are jeopardized. But it is essential to always seek the most costeffective possible way to fulfill those functions. We look at how
new technologies enable more efficient work processes, we look at
inter-institutional collaboration, we look at outsourcing (as for
example with the dining program); we are always examining the
way those core functions are provided to make sure they are as
cost-effective as possible. ■

Use this QR code or visit sbc.edu/magazine
to watch an interview with President Parker.

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GIVING BACK

Makes Sense.
WHEN SUE AND LEE PIEPHO TALK ABOUT SWEET
Briar College, they always come back to one thing:
love. For its landscape and treasured spaces. For
the sciences and the liberal arts. Love for the
community. Having lived on campus for more than
40 years, their roots at Sweet Briar run deep.
“We’ve kind of grown up with the place,” says Sue,
who taught chemistry from the early 1970s until
2007. “It’s been like a big family. You really get to
know a lot of people pretty darn well.”
Lee, English professor from 1969 until 2005, agrees:
“Since it’s such a small liberal arts college, you get
to know people outside your discipline. It’s a very
open community. We’ve always liked that.”
Between the two of them, the Piephos’ academic
interests span the entire spectrum of a liberal arts
curriculum, from the sciences to the humanities.
They’ve also been able to venture outside of their
specialties — something they both say would not
have been possible at a large university. While
teaching, Sue pursued her interest in quantum
mechanics, and Lee continues to do research in
Latin culture and literature.

Lee Piepho, Ph.D., Sara Shallenberg Brown Professor of English
emeritus and Susan Piepho, Ph.D., professor of chemistry emerita have
been a vital part of Sweet Briar’s community for more than 40 years.

“The College gives you an
incredible amount of freedom
to define both what you teach
and your research”

“The College gives you an incredible amount of
freedom to define both what you teach and your
research,” Sue says. “We’ve seen Sweet Briar really
make a difference in people’s lives.”
Now, they’ve decided to make a difference in the
life of Sweet Briar. Their generous endowment of
$1.5 million will help to preserve all of the things
they love about the College: its expansive gardens
and lakes, its library, its interdisciplinary science
programs and international scholarships.
You can shape lives at Sweet Briar College through
a bequest or other type of planned gift. To learn
how you can make a difference today, please
contact us at giving@sbc.edu or (888) 846-5722.

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

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BEFORE COMING TO SWEET BRIAR IN THE LATE 1990s,
Jessica Livingston ’00 hadn’t planned on playing lacrosse at all —
much less becoming an All-American player and ending up on the
cover of Lacrosse Magazine. Yet that’s exactly what happened.
Maybe, the magazine speculates in its January issue, it is because
“she can’t resist a challenge.”
When Jessica moved to Scottsdale, Ariz., in 2002, lacrosse wasn’t
exactly a thriving sport there. To help get the game off the ground,
Jessica took over as head coach of the Chaparral Varsity Girls Lacrosse
Club that year.
“There was a need. It worked out well,” she said in an interview
with the magazine.
Under her guidance, the club has won two state championships.
But Jessica’s focus didn’t remain on high school sports alone. In
2004, she founded AZ Girls Lacrosse, a league for girls in grades K-9.
Since then, lacrosse in Arizona has grown dramatically.
“It had five girls when it began,” Jessica says. “I’ve had about a
thousand girls go through my program now.”
She also started the state’s only post-collegiate program, Arizona
Storm. While a knee injury last March stopped her from playing on
the team, her coaching career is just getting started. In 2010, US
Lacrosse honored Jessica with the Excellence in Growing the Game
award.
To her, it’s not just an award. It’s a whole new challenge.

C L A S S

N O T E S

One Challenge at a Time
Lacrosse Magazine Features Sweet Briar Grad

1938
Frances Bailey Brooke
405 Jackson Ave.
Lexington, VA 24450

1942
Ann Morrison Reams
771 Bon Air Circle
Lynchburg, VA 24503
amrsbc42@gmail.com
I hope that some of you will attend
our grand 70th Reunion this spring.
The College will arrange accommodations for you, and I will be among
those eagerly waiting to welcome
you. I had a most wonderful visit
last fall on SBC campus with Edie
Brainard Walter and her daughter
Anne and husband Mike. They happened to choose Families Weekend
at SBC, so we had a glorious time. I
had such a good letter from Eloise
English Davies’ daughter, Meredith
Hadaway, reporting that Eloise is in
good condition other than losing her
eyesight. I always look forward to
hearing from Bobbie Engh Croft

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SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

with a Thanksgiving letter. She is
well and looks forward to spending
time in Ariz. in winter. I love hearing
from Ann Hauslein Potterfield and
Tom at Christmas, and from Betty
Blackmer Childs and Mackall, and
other SBC friends, including the
children of my roommate, Grace
Bugg Muller Thym. I celebrated my
91st birthday in Jan. while visiting
my good friend at her home at Boca
Brande. Sadly we’ve lost classmates Jessamine Boyce Bowles
Morris in Greensboro, Ginny Thayer
Boothby, and Nancy Golbarth
Glaser in Richmond. Do send news
or bring it with you at Reunion.

1944
Alice Lancaster Buck
21085 Cardinal Pond Ter., Apt. 106
Ashburn, VA 20147
alicelbuck@gmail.com
Alice Lancaster Buck: We’re all
gaining in years, but hopefully gaining in grace too. Many of us have
transitioned to retirement communities, but two more have recently

made the move. Our class president, Louise Smith Barry’s new address is: 242 Peconic Landing,
1500 Brecknock Rd., Greenport,
NY 11944. The other is Catherine
“Tee” Tift Porter now at 3747
Peachtree Rd. NE, Apt. 1215, Atlanta, GA 30319. Betty Williams
Gookin and Richard arranged a
wonderful class mini-reunion in
Richmond last Oct. Peggy Gordon
Seiler and Bob were there as well
as Louise Barry, Mariam Shanley
Jacobs, Jean Blanton Stein,
Carlisle Morrisett Branch and myself. We were privileged to have
Betsy Muhlenfield and her husband
Larry join us for dinner at the Jefferson Hotel.
Peggy Seiler and Bob are planning
a trip to Savannah to attend the
100th anniversary of the founding
of the Girl Scouts by Peggy’s aunt,
Juliette Gordon Low. My daughter,
Dorsie Buck Harrison ’73, and I (Alice Buck) had a great trip to San
Francisco last May for the wedding
of her daughter Kristin. Life is great
here at Ashby Ponds in northern
Va., and I’ve become good friends

with Carolyn Cannady Evans ’49.
We’ve enjoyed going to SBC functions together.
Anita Lippitt Clay sent a delightful
article about the “Savanna Crabettes,” which she and two other
friends started more than 21 years
ago. The article explains that
“they’re part musical group, part
novelty act, part social group.” They
play for birthdays, parties, nursing
homes, grand openings, graduations and now have a standing gig
at the Whistle Stop restaurant in
downtown Savannah. Anita, the matriarch of the group, plays the accordion and is referred to as “The
General” by her bandmates, partly
in reference to her role with the
group as well as to her World War II
service in army aviation. Congratulations, Anita!
It’s always hard to report the loss
of more of our wonderful classmates. Martha “Marty” Falk
Vallery died on 1/7/12 and Anne
Guthrie Yokana on 1/4/12. We are
grateful for having known them.

1951
Patty Lynas Ford
2165 West Dry Creek Road
Healdsburg, CA 95448
patella2@sonic.net
Mary Pease Fleming: Holiday greetings
came from some alumnae. Barbara Birt
Dow and Bill were heading to their winter nest in Vero Beach, Fla., on 1/2/12.
Jean Duerson Bade writes from
Louisville that she’s doing aerobic
swimming 6 days a week and still enjoys her house and canine friend Buddy.
Joan Davis Warren and Eugenia Ellis
Mason seem to be doing OK. Not the
case with Ann Sheldon Campbell who
lives here at Westminster-Canterbury
with her husband, Bill. Ann recently
broke her foot and is slowly healing.
Rives and I had a joyous holiday with
some of our children, starting at
Thanksgiving! My granddaughter is getting married in June.
Jean Randolph Bruns: I lived next to
Anna Leslie Coolidge Richardson freshman year and well remember the logistics of her to-ing and fro-ing between
Texas and college with a harp. This has
been almost too eventful a year: my 2
Thai-American granddaughters graduated from U. Fla. and from Stuart Hall in
Staunton, Va. My Thai step-grandson
was naturalized as a U.S. citizen and
married a woman from Argentina. One
American grandson, Marine veteran of
Afghanistan and Iraq and now a nurse,
will make me a great-grandmother in
March. My Thai daughter-in-law died of
liver cancer in May in Thailand, where it
is endemic from exposure to Hepatitis
B. My daughter’s daughter, a N.Y.
lawyer, is taking off for South Africa and
projects there. I’m once again wintering

on Fla.’s Redneck Riviera. Home in midMarch to enjoy springtime in the mountains of Va.
Susan Taylor Hubbard: We had a gathering on Sweet Briar Day here in Norfolk,
which was successful. I was the only
member from ’51, but had a number of
friends from other classes. There were
many prospective students and their
parents, as well as current students.
Anne Sinsheimer: It was such fun being
with you and Dick at Reunion. In Sept., I
went to Ireland, which is beautiful.
Sue Lockley Glad: I’m settling into my
new quarters in Bend, Ore., and learning to be a widow, which isn’t easy as
many of you know. Taking Tai Chi, doing
a lot of walking along the Deschutes
River.
Carolyn Sample Abshire: Sorry to learn
of Anna Leslie Coolidge Richardson’s
death. She was a grand, thoughtful and
upbeat roommate, and we were together in Reed and Carson. It still
seems amazing that once a month (I
think) she would load her harp on the
train and travel to Washington, D.C., for
lessons with Sylvia Meyers, the principal harpist with the National Symphony.
Then at Junior year she transferred to
SMU where she met and married Shelby
Lee Richardson. I was in her wedding in
Helena and visited her in Texas in the
50’s. Life’s changes: Last summer we
sold our house of 42 years and moved
to the Episcopal Retirement Home,
Goodwin House, here in Alexandria
(same phone number). Our address is
4800 Fillmore Ave., Apt. 458, Alexandria, VA. 22311.
Lynne McCullough Gush: Recently, I
survived 5 performances of Piazzolla
and Gershwin in Dec. I well remember
Anna Leslie Coolidge Richardson who
periodically loaded her harp in a taxi
and took off somewhere for a lesson. I
shudder with anxiety when moving my
harp from one room to another.
Margaret Fitzsimmons Jones: Bob and I
live in a retirement community 2 miles
from our old house. Just had our 23rd
anniversary at 82 and 83. Together we
have 8 children and 20 grandchildren,
all close by.
Angie Vaughan: Bob and I continue in
our chosen paths—daily he goes down
to his studio in the basement, and I go
to my office near the kitchen. He creates art and I do small business accounting and taxes. Our 5 children
seem to be in “good places” at this
time, and we have 7 grandsons.
Patty Lynas Ford: To backtrack, in the
summer of 1948 when I arrived home in
Calif. after my first year at SBC, my
mother made arrangements for me to
go to Yellowstone Park (with friends) to
sell salads in the cafeteria at West
Thumb. West Thumb was the smallest
and least developed tourist site in the
park. Our cabins had wood floors, wood
frames on the sides and wooden supports for the canvas roof. There was a
faucet outside that the bears fancied,
and I don’t remember where the toilets
and showers were, but certainly not
next door! We had a wood stove, which
had to be lit at 5:30 a.m. At 7800 ft,
the nights were not balmy. We had to be
at the cafeteria at 6:30 a.m., eat and
prepare for the Dudes (tourists) to come
to breakfast. We were on duty for 3
meals a day, 1 day off a week. During

that time, I faithfully wrote to my mother
in Claremont (east of Los Angeles) on
Yellowstone stationery. I returned home
in late Aug. Fast forward to 2003 to
columns in the San Francisco Chronicle
written by a naturalist living in Yellowstone. I wrote to him about the article
and told him of my summer in 1948. I
sent him copies of the letters to my
mother. He was delighted to read about
how the park had changed and about
my experiences. He asked for copies for
the archives. Dick and I went to Yellowstone for a week in July 2005. By then,
Jerry and his wife had moved to Wash.,
but he kindly introduced us to people
there. Now, fast forward to Jan. 2012. I
received a letter from the Yellowstone
Archivist asking me for the originals. I
sent them off by Certified Mail, and now
I am awaiting the contract to sign. I
have been told that these letters are
treasures to be included in their collection as there is nothing like them, as far
as content and revelations of employees’ life.

1952
Patricia Layne Winks
312 Arguello Blvd., Apt. 3
San Francisco, CA 94118
plwinks@earthlink.net
The holidays brought many greetings,
but sad reminders that some of you—or
your spouses—have health issues that
prevent your coming to our 60th reunion
in May. With her customary enthusiasm
and diligence, Joanne Holbrook Patton
is leading the rally to come to Reunion.
Marty Legge Katz and Bill will not be
joining us at Reunion. Benita Phinizy
Johnson received special urging from
Nancy Hamel Clark to make the trip. I’d
love to see my dear roommate again.
Mary Lois Miller Carroll wrote that
since husband High has been having
health problems they’re considering relocating closer to their children.
After Peggy Nelson Harding lost her
husband Nort, she became ill, but
hopes for a brighter 2012. Unfortunately a partial commemoration of the
life of Susanna Crist Lee was lost in the
process of reprinting my last Class
Notes. As I wrote then, I wish I had kept
up with Susanna over the years. Her
obituary reflects a rich, rewarding life.
She is survived by her husband of 60
years, 2 daughters and 4 grandchildren.
More recently, Edith Marsh Fonda
passed away in Dec. 2011. Edie left behind 3 children, 7 grandchildren and 2
great-grandchildren. Susanna and Edie,
we miss you.
Grace Wallace Brown and daughter
Catherine celebrated the 60th anniversary of her Junior Year in France by returning to France. In Nov., she joined
her daughters for a getaway trip to the
mountains.
Jackie Razook Chamandy wrote that
she is as active as ever in real estate:
“I do my best to conceal my advanced
age! Experience is a good marketing device, but 32 years is a bit more experience than one needs in one’s resume!”
Nancy Morrow Lovell has been creating
digital scrapbooks for friends to commemorate celebratory occasions.
(Come to Reunion, Nancy, and bring
your camera!) She has also traveled to
Las Vegas and Fla.

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine
Joanne Holbrook Patton attended the
Jan. SBC brunch in her area, where she
saw Betsy Wilder Cady and Jane Russo
Sheehan. Betsy is off to Spain in May,
but Jane, I hope, will join us at Reunion.
Recently, Joanne had lunch in N.Y.C.
with Sue Bassewitz Mentzinger and
Ginger Dreyfus Karren. Ginger, happily
remarried, runs a bed and breakfast
service in N.Y.
Harriet “Binji” Thayer Elder still sees
clients, exercises, hikes and goes dancing each week. She also reported: “My
house was flooded in the Nashville
flood and had to be gutted with most all
belongings ruined. Besides the trauma,
what stands out in my mind is the
amazing number of people who have
come from as far away as N.Y. to help
all of us. With so much negativity in the
world it has been so great to see how
many wonderful compassionate people
there are.”
I think that’s a good note to end on,
along with the hope that I will see many
of you in May.

1953
Florence Pye Apy
67 Rivers Edge Dr.
Little Silver, NJ 07739
Floapy@verizon.net
Kay Amsden continues her committee
work, is taking writing courses and volunteers wherever she feels needed. I
was happy to hear that Mary Lou’s postcancer CT scans showed no new malignancies. Both are enthusiastic about
their living arrangement.
Nan Locke Rosa’s big 8-0 is coming up
as well as her wedding anniversary.
Ginger Timmons Ludwick wrote from
Palm Desert, Calif., where she and
David participated in a Social Golf Tourney. She and David have a thespian
grandson in Calif. as do Chet and I. Ginger is getting a head start on plans to
attend our 60th Reunion. So listen up!
The reunion dates have been changed
to May 31-June 2.
Sug Cantey Patton is well and enjoying
day-to-day living, especially during football season.
Anne Joyce Wyman sent a photo collage of some of the places she and
Joseph have been with no notes. I can
identify the Parthenon. I suspect the
camel is either from Egypt or Jordan.
They are also shown with their daughter
Anneke, their very tall son-in-law and
two handsome grandsons—the men all
in jackets and ties.
At lunch with Jeanne Duff and Patti
Tighe Walden, I learned that Mary Littlejohn Belser had become a greatgrandmother. Patti had also heard from
Carol Exnicios Tucker, who is alive and
well in Fla. After spending their lives in
Va., Ted and Dale Hutter Harris have
moved to Durham, N.C.
I received word from Sallie Gayle
Beck’s daughter Gayle that Sallie died
on 11/20/12 in Merida, Mexico, where
she and Doug spent the last years of
their lives. Her ashes were mixed with

1954
Bruce Watts Krucke
7352 Toogoodoo Rd.
Yonges Island, SC
29449 bwkrucke@gmail.com
Caroline “Kobo” Chobot Garner and
Tom celebrated their 50th anniversary.
They still live at Alexian Village in Chattanooga, but Tom is in the health unit
due to his Parkinson’s. Kobo’s son,
now Lt. Col. Gailor Garner, is back from
his 4th tour in Iraq and lives in Lynchburg. He and Tara have 2 youngsters
too, Thomas and Clara. Kobo also has
grandchildren Parker and Caroline.
Sally Gammon Plummer took several
trips with her birding group—South Fla.,
Palm Springs, N.M. and Bosque del
Apache. Sally volunteers weekly with the
natural history museum. Nancy and
George bicycled over 5000 miles in
2011.
Hattie Hughes Stone and Dick went to
Jerusalem, sailing on the Sea of
Galilee, Capernaum, Tiberius, Nazareth,
and Bethlehem with a church group. In
Oct., they spent 3 weeks in Portugal.
Their son Rick developed an automobile
control system for the Los Angeles Airport. Hattie’s daughter Kath is at the
Church Center for the UN. Hattie’s son
Jim installed solar and geothermal systems in his home. Her other son Chris
fell while climbing, resulting in a
cracked vertebra and damaged ankle,
but is recovering.
Jerry Dreisbach Ludeke went to her
granddaughter’s wedding in Costa Rica
among others. Her son Kevin and his
wife are doing State Dept. training in
Korea. Jerry still is active in a number
of things: Pioneer Day in Paso Robles,
Camp Mather, the Dan Reid Memorial
Bagpipe Competition, church work, and
directing the Bakersfield College
Archives. As if that weren’t enough, she
also went to Ireland for 10 days and
then a month in South Africa with a
friend she hadn’t seen in 50 years.
Jean “Sissy” Morris Long has published
a book, Finding Kate. It’s the story of
her grandmother leaving Va. and coming
to Ark. to teach school in the late 18th
century. Amazon has only 15 copies
left!
I got a nice note from Cynthia Sinclair
Rutherford’s husband Bill. He’s been
caring for Cindy who has had
Alzheimer’s disease since 2002, but
she’ll be going to live in a nice nursing
home soon. Very sad.
Ann Thomas Donohoe and Tom have
been besieged with workmen repairing
the damage caused by a huge old tree
falling on the house at Thanksgiving.
I don’t think I told you that I went to
China on a Sweet Briar sponsored trip
in Oct. It was fabulous! This year has
started out well with me visiting an old
friend in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico for a
week in Feb. We’re about to take a
short trip with some old Yokohama High
School friends of mine to Atlanta, Mobile, and Pensacola. Then we have a
river boat trip from Hamburg to Prague
in the summer. Won’t you tell me about
your trips too?

39

Please send me an email with what
you’re doing. I see Shirley Poulson
Broyles on Facebook sometimes. Is
anyone else on there? It’s a great way
to keep up.

1955
Emily Hunter Slingluff
1217 North Bay Shore Dr.
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
emilyslingluff@aol.com
Emmy Coxe Winburne: (Savannah, Ga.)
Taking a sculpting class, French classes
and pilates. Going to Paris with daughter Emily and granddaughter Emily Wood
in April.
Jane Feltus Welch: (Louisville, Ky.) I
visit N.Y.C. regularly to see friends and
shows. My present gentleman caller is a
Louisvillian. In Jan., we went to Costa
Rica with Camille Williams Yow and her
friends from Atlanta where we ziplined
in a rain forest (terrifying!). We also
went to Aruba where we snorkeled (I got
sea sick.) When I acted my age—lying
on the beach reading and floating
around in the Caribbean—I had a glorious time. We’re going to Naples, Fla., in
Feb.
Camille Williams Yow: (Atlanta, Ga.) In
Jan., Jane Feltus Welch and I were part
of a house party to Las Catalinas in
Costa Rica. I volunteer with the Atlanta
Symphony and The Forward Arts Foundation, which runs 3 businesses and
contributes money to the visual arts.
Betty Sanford Molster: (Richmond, Va.)
Chuck and I are still happy in Richmond—our 59th anniversary coming up
soon. Our 4 children, spouses and 14
grandchildren are a great blessing. The
grandchildren are ages 5 to 26.
Bar Plamp Hunt: (Santa Rosa, Calif.)
We think moving to Varenna in Santa
Rosa, Calif., was the smartest move
we’ve ever made. George is still working, here and there around Sonoma
County, either on Sundays only or, these
last few years, being the “Interim Priestin-Charge” of churches.
Lydia Plamp Mower: (St. Louis, Mo.)
Since I’ve recovered from my surgery a
year ago, I’ve been traveling again—off
to Santa Rosa (Calif.) for a week with
Bar and George. Visited son George and
his wife Betsy in Atlanta. My daughter,
Lauren and her family moved to Virginia
Beach. I’m still in my own house. My
good friend Gene Smith is in a lovely retirement home. I plan to visit family in
London in June.
Georgia Knoblock Smith: (Tequesta,
Fla.) Phil and I keep busy with church,
reading, golf, and bridge. We live full
time on the east coast of Fla., and look
forward to children’s and grands’ visits.
Our 2nd grandson will be married in
May, and there will be a grand family reunion.
Mitzi Streit Halla: (Vienna, Va.) Roman
is now retired while I continue with my
travel clients. Last fall I enjoyed my
14th trip to Australia and my 6th trip to
New Zealand. Our sons Kenneth (48)
Brian (46), their wives, and 8 children
joined us last Aug. for our family week
from Prague to Vienna. During our
Prague days, we enjoyed visits with 3
generations of Roman’s Czech cousins,
ages 1 to 60. Kenneth continues as Social Studies Chair at his Alexandria, Va.,

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

high school. They live 30 min. from us,
so we see them often. About 2 years
ago, Brian and his family moved to
Chapel Hill. With less than a 5 hour
drive, we visit them frequently, too.
Amanda McThenia Iodice: (Rochester
Hills, Mich.) I volunteer as a writer and
layout person for the local senior newspaper, “Vintage View.” Don is teaching
French. Our grandson (12) qualified for
the International karate tournament in
Cadiz, Spain, last fall. I’m hoping to run
away to Cleveland for a brief visit with
Fritz Merriman Naylor if weather permits.
Elise Wachenfeld Depapp: (Pittsford,
N.Y.) I keep busy with my horse and
dog, and with “Senior Ed.” at the OSHER Institute. Taking 2 courses right
now, one on Ancient Rome. I’m also involved with the Hearing Loss Assoc. of
America. My children are in Philadelphia, Boston, and Dallas. I had a wonderful trip to Ireland this past fall with
Erika, my veterinary daughter. I keep in
touch with Ruth Campbell VanDerpoel,
who lives in N.J.
Ruth Campbell Vanderpoel: (Morristown, N.J.) I love the townhouse where I
moved in early 1998. Am not playing
tennis anymore, but have taken up water exercise at the local YMCA.
Anne Kilby Gilhuly: (Cos Cob, Conn.) My
hospital in Africa, Edna’s Maternity Hospital in Somaliland, is thriving. They’ve
brought down the maternity mortality
rate by 70 percent. I can’t do it all myself anymore, so I’m letting go of the
bookkeeping and correspondence. I still
give courses for Greenwich Continuing
Ed on Greek history and literature and a
couple of lectures a year on Shakespeare. Bob is still practicing law full
time. We have visited our children and
grandchildren, and most recently, Rome.
Next up: Dalmatia in May.
Kay Robers McHaney: (Victoria, Texas)
I’m still involved with our family daily
newspaper. I do love to travel and Jim
and I enjoyed a great trip to South Africa
last year. When here in Victoria, it’s not
dull since 3 of our 4 children live here
and 9 of our 12 grandchildren are here.
Fourth child with his family of 3 children
lives in Austin.
Didi Stoddard: (Carlisle, Mass.) I’m
headed to the warmth of Turks and
Caicos with my partner, daughter, sonin-law and their son (2 ½) whom we call
His Majesty Sir Tyler. We took them last
year to St. John and had a wonderful
time.
Petsy Cautier Mezey: (Carol Gables,
Fla.) Cliff had multiple surgeries following a 2nd knee replacement, so no
more big travel. We do go to northwestern N.C. for the summer months and
that’s a great break from the Fla. heat.
We’re active with 13 grandchildren scattered around the country, most of whom
get here at least once a year.
Phyllis Herndon Brissenden: (Springfield, Ill.) I have a Westie and a Cairn,
both rescue dogs. Have had hip problems, so am not doing my bird watching
trips, but still listen to opera and travel.
I garden and cook and do volunteer
work with our nature center, symphony,
and historical society.
Jeannette Kennedy Hancock: (Birmingham, Ala.) Jimmie and I have just sold
our home and are moving to a condo.
Our new address is 118 Club Village

Drive Birmingham, AL 35213. Surprising
to have 2 grands in college and one
heading there next year and then more
to come!
Honey Addington Passano: (Baltimore,
Md.) We moved from Lanvale Street into
a handsome retirement edifice. Our new
address and phone: 1055 West Joppa
Road, Apt.727, Towson, MD 21204.
Bexie faxon Knowles: (Naples, Fla.) We
will be lunching with Betty Byrne and
Hudnall soon in Fla. We may see Jane
Feltus Welch when she comes to
Naples. I’m busy doing various things at
church, teaching ESL, and playing tennis. We continue to enjoy endless summer—Fla. in the winter, Maine in the
summer.
Mary Boyd Murray Trussell: (Columbus,
Ga.) George and I are doing well, spending a lot of time at the condo in Panama
City Beach. We had 2 wonderful trips to
the Bahamas last year with friends from
Winterpark. I’m enjoying a ministry to
the homeless at our Prayer Breakfast at
Trinity Episcopal Church.
Meta Space Moore: (Charleston, S.C.)
Three children: Margaret, husband and
2 children; Susan, husband and 6 children; and my son lives here with wife
and 3 children. I’m very involved in the
Stephen Ministry and the Garden Club,
sports, and travelling each year to different parts of the world.
Catherine Cage Bruns: (Houston, Tex.) I
had a fainting accident in June and am
left with left hand nerve damage. My
sister, Chaille, died in 2010 leaving me
as the oldest in the family. She was my
best friend and confidant, so it has
been hard to adjust. My son is in Minn.
I long for the peacefulness and good
times and friends of Sweet Briar.
Betty Byrne Ware: (Richmond, Va.) Hudnall and I are in Naples for 3 months
and will see Jane Feltus Welch when
she visits Naples in Feb. and Bexie
Faxon Knowles, who lives here most of
the year. Also we see Jane Slack Sigloh
’56 and Mary Mead Utt who is Helen
Mac’s niece. Mary was at Sweet Briar
for just a semester.
Retta Jelks Vance: (Bristol, Tenn.) Allen
and I have moved back to Bristol from
Savannah to be near family. We have a
daughter here with her husband and 2
teenage boys, and daughter nearby in
Kingsport, Tenn., with husband and
daughter, and one daughter in Charlotte
with husband and daughter. We saw
Dede and her family this summer and
will see her next month on a trip to Savannah. So sad. Had a nice phone visit
with Meta recently.
Dede Harrison Austin: (Savannah, Ga.)
As many know, in May, Dede and Larry
were driving from their house in Savannah to their house in the N.C. mountains when a van went through a stop
sign and ran into their car. Dede’s
spinal cord was broken and she is paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Her story and
photos are on caringbridge.org. I know
we all send special love to her, a dear
Sweet Briar friend.
Ethel Green Banta: (Natchez, Miss.)
Ethel lives in a very old historic house,
Hope Farm, in Natchez. It’s a bed and
breakfast. Some of us stayed there a
few years ago and loved seeing Ethel,
all of Natchez, and staying in Ethel’s
wonderful old 4 poster beds!
Emily Hunter Slingluff: (Virginia Beach,

Va.) I still live on Linkhorn Bay. Son is at
the UVa as surgeon and cancer researcher and is married; and daughter,
her husband, and 2 of their daughters
live 16 houses from me. I travel around
pretty much, and also write and play
bridge and see many friends. “We’re the
tops, We’re the greatest!” (For all reading this who are not class of ’55, that
was our class song and we just might
really think it!)

Nancy Salisbury Spencer
2580 Club Park Rd.
Winston-Salem, NC 27104
jyspencer@aol.com
First, some sad news. Nancy St. Clair
Talley died in Dec. 2011. Nancy was
one of our outstanding Richmond students. She is survived by her 4 sons,
their wives and children. Louise Barry
Bennett Gibbs died in Jan. 2012. She
is survived by her husband, son, daughter, and several grandchildren. Anne
Coleman Hooper Stavrolakes died in
Aug. 2011. She was the widow of a fellow writer, Aristedes Stavrolakes. Her
daughter, Rena, would like to hear from
anyone who remembers her mother and
could share stories with her. Contact
Rena at rstavrolakes@hotmail.com. We
send our condolences to the families of
these classmates.
Nancie Howe Entenmann Roberts has
recently sent the following message:
“Jim Roberts and I were married at St.
Mark’s Episcopal Church, where my
grandfather was the First Senior Warden, thus involving building and the mission of this Gothic Perpendicular
Church. The architect was Cram, same
as SBC!”
Our class celebrated its 55th Reunion
in May 2011. The following gathered for
all or part of the weekend: Frances
Shannonhouse Clardy, Louisa Hunt
Coker and Mac, Lou Galleher Coldwell,
Nancie Howe Entenmann Roberts,
Kitty Harrison, Iris Potteiger Hinchman,
Rose Montgomery Johston, Karen
Steinhardt Kirkbride and Dick, Helen
Turner Murphy and Tayloe, Mimi Thornton Oppenhimer, Ann Train Ross and
John, Jane Slack Sigloh, Nancy Salisbury Spencer and Jim, Jane Street
Steele and Henry, Mary Ann Hicklin
Willingham, and Joan Broman Wright
and Jim.
We missed all of you, but appreciated
the answers from the questionnaires
you sent in. This edition of the notes
will include information for about half of
our classmates, and the remaining half
will be published in the next edition.
Ann Greer Adams, now a widow, lives in
Mobile, Ala. She married her high
school sweetheart, enjoys bridge, volunteering at the High Museum, and was
president of the Junior League of Atlanta. Ann enjoys her 8 grandchildren.
Laura Hailey Bowen graduated from
Emory U. after 2 years at Sweet Briar.
She is married to Charles, President of

Westview Cemetery. They have a daughter who graduated from SBC and 2
other children. All are married and there
are 6 grandchildren.
Barbara Darnall Clinton is married to
Daniel, a retired civil engineer. They enjoy traveling and spending time with
their 2 children and 5 grandchildren.
Her primary interest outside of her family is singing in her church choir and in a
semi-professional musical chorus.
Louisa Hunt Coker and Mac live in a retirement community, but she remains
very active in her garden club, bridge
club and book club. She has 3 children
and 7 grandchildren.
Leona Chang Crozier and husband Al
live in Novato, Calif., where he is with
the Chevron Corporation. They celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2009.
They have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. She received a master’s degree
from Cornell U. Leona is very active in
her church.
Mary Alice Major Duncan received a
B.S. degree with honors from Purdue U.
She is married to William Graham Duncan, a retired farmer and aviation business owner. She is an extremely active
member of the Presbyterian Church,
having served as deacon, elder, Clerk of
Session, and Moderator of Presbyterian
Women. The Duncans have 3 children
and 4 grandchildren.
Ellen “Brucie” Bordley Gibbs spent 32
years running the lower school office at
Bryn Mawr School and is now retired.
Meredith Smythe Grider has been a
widow for 11 years, but has a small gift
shop in Mich. that keeps her busy for
the 6 months she spends there. She
has 3 daughters and 4 grandchildren.
Lottie Lou Lipscomb Guttry lives in
Longview Texas, a college instructor at
Kilgore College, the U. of Texas at Tyler,
and the owner/director of Sylvan Learning Center. She received a master’s
from Stephen Austin State U., and an
Ed. D—Texas A&M. She and John, a retired dentist, returned from Egypt 4
days before the protests started. She
has survived 3 bouts of cancer. She
has 3 children, 8 grandchildren, and 2
great-grandchildren.
Mary Katherine Koonz Gynn lives in
Fort Wayne, Ind. She received a B.S.
from Purdue U., is a widow and a
farmer. She has 2 children and 3 grandchildren. “Still farming my own fields
with my own equipment—Love it!”
Katherine “Kitty” Harrison lives in
Chapel Hill where she retired as the
UNC-CH women’s tennis coach. She received a B.A. and M.A. from the U. of
Texas at Austin. She has worked on her
doctorate in classics at UNC-CH. She
enjoys walking, traveling, and clubs like
the Colonial Dames and the University
Women’s Club.
Denny Dolan Henkel received a B.A.
from the U. of Denver. Denny and her
husband, Steve, were co-owners of the
Campbell Co. and live on Mercer Island
in Seattle. “Steve has been the love of
my life of over 55 years.” They have 4
children and 6 grandchildren.
Rose Montgomery Johnston lives in
Memphis, Tenn. She has a private practice as a psychotherapist and received
her Ph.D. from the U. of Memphis. Her
husband, Tom, an attorney, died in
2006 after 50 years of marriage. Rose
has 4 daughters and 13 grandchildren.

She is active in her church, served on
many community boards and enjoys
travel.
Karen Steinhardt Kirkbride is married
to Dick, retired from the Dept. of Defense. She has a master’s degree in
philosophy from Georgetown U. and received from Harvard U. a degree in The
Senior Officials for National Security
Program. She served as the U.S. International Representative for Data Representation, also for the American National Standards Institute. She has 3
sons and a new granddaughter. She is a
real estate referral specialist and an aspiring novelist.
Janet Monroe Marshall lives in
Clarksville, Md. She is a hospital/education administrator. She has a degree
in sociology from Albright U. and also
studied at Temple and U. of Md. Her
husband, Henry, is a retired auto dealer
and they enjoy working on their farm.
She has 3 children and 2 grandchildren.
When the class of ’56 was asked what
they enjoyed most about their Sweet
Briar years, it was the life-long friendships they made, small classes with
stimulating professors, and the pleasure they received living on the beautiful
campus. We want to close by thanking
Mary Ann Hicklin Willingham and Joan
Broman Wright for their outstanding
service as our class presidents and
Meredith Smythe Grider and “Macie”
Clay Nichols for their diligent service as
our class secretaries. New officers are
president, Karen Steinhardt Kirkbride,
and class secretaries, Nancy Salisbury
Spencer and Frances Shannonhouse
Clardy.

1959
Ali Wood Thompson
89 Pukolu Way
Wailea, HI 96753
travisnali@hawaii.rr.com
Many thanks to those who wrote in. I’d
love to hear from more of you the next
time for news.
Passings: Caroline Green, 2011. Mary
Picton “Pic” or “Pickie” Payne Hester,
1/9/12, and Alvin Ziegler, husband of
Isa Mary Lowe Ziegler, Feb. 2011.
Erna Arnold Westwig: Not a lot of news
from Corning, N.Y. We’re just back from
a ski weekend with the whole family. In
mid-Feb. we’ll head for warmer climates
until April. Then we can put our sailboat
in the water on Cayuga Lake. After that
I’ll look forward to the annual gathering
of the intrepid 6-some of Jini, Sandy,
Mary, Polly, Sarah Jane and myself. We
have had a reunion of us Sweet Briar
gals faithfully for almost 20 years now!
Caroline Blake Whitney: First of all, do

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine
none of our classmates pass through
Cambridge, Mass. for one reason or another? Cannot anybody dare to answer
a standing invitation to stay for a brief
sojourn? I’m a bisected person as far
as where I want to be: went home to Argentina to visit our farm and friends. It
was glorious, but I love North America,
east coast also.
Mary Harrison Cooke “Cookie” Carle:
Rehabbing my left knee replacement—
very slow. Taking trip to South Africa,
March 17 until after Easter…Daughter
Rebecca (SBC ’93) in D.C., working for
an anti-tobacco foundation and doing a
massage certification training. Still
hope to get to Dalmatian Coast, Portugal, Spain and Tibet-Bhutan-Nepal…oy
vey!
Alice Cary Farmer Brown: We’re visiting
India for 3 weeks. I know I will faint
when I see the Taj Mahal, a longtime
dream. I want to wish HAPPY BIRTHDAY
to those of us who are turning 75 this
year. Aren’t we fortunate to be alive!
Penny Fisher Dunklee: All John’s and
my parts work pretty well. We laugh a
lot and I clean house hardly ever. Love
and laughs.
Susan Hight Rountree: I decided to “retire” from teaching my annual study program for miniaturists at Colonial
Williamsburg. This spring will be busy
getting ready for Garden Week in Va.,
and we also have the annual meeting
for the Garden Club of Va. here. Joe and
I are once again going up to N.H. MayOct. to a place we have up there. We extend the invitation to anyone who’s in
the area!
Elizabeth Johnston Lipscomb: The highlight of 2011 for the Lipscombs was a
gathering of our entire family at our
Bath County cabin in June for an early
celebration of Lloyd’s 75th birthday.
With the family spread from Santa Fe,
N.M. to Greenville, S.C. to Greensboro,
N.C. and Lynchburg, the opportunities
to be together are all too rare. Lloyd and
I continue to enjoy life at Westminster
Canterbury. If any of you are returning to
campus for special events, please let
me know. It would be wonderful to see
you.
Jini Jones Vail: The last 6 months have
been a rush for me with the fine reception of my book: “Rochambeau, Washington’s Ideal Lieutenant.” The Sweet
Briar Book Shop will be carrying it in a
few days. In my wildest dreams, I never
even thought I would have a book of my
own in those hallowed halls.
Virginia MacKethan Kitchin: I’m sure
others have written you about Pickie
Payne Hestor’s funeral at St. Stephens
Episcopal Church in Richmond, where
there were a host of classmates.The
other sad death is of Isa Mary Lowe
Ziegler’s husband, Alvin. It was quite
sudden, and the funeral was Feb. 9.
They have been living these many years
in Orinda, Calif., and their 3 children all
live in the area.
Ginny Marchant Noyes: I celebrated
Christmas in Berlin with all my kids, and
leave next week for India where I’ll view
Rajasthan palaces and gardens (a subject on which I have lectured widely).

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

40

Commencement 2012

41

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Colby Stinnette with mother MJ Stinnette ‘16

Sally Lauck Harris and aunt Grayson Harris Lane ’83

Heather Bradley and sister
Amanda Bradley Spivey ‘09

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

42

Will be in Hong Kong (where we lived
and worked and to which I have not returned since Tom died) to and fro...I’ll
throw kisses over Hawaii!
Nita Mixon Cox: Jim and I are retired,
having taught about 29 years each at
the U. of Louisiana. Moved to Georgia to
take care of my parents, and now are
engaged in volunteer work and “grandchildren watching.” I was saddened to
learn of the death of my dear friend
Ruthie Weaver and her husband McRae
Williams.
Marcia Payne Grant: New email address: Marcia.P.Grant@gmail.com.
Ann Pegram Howington: My Charlottesville bookseller son Byron Harris is
closing down Splintered Light, his theology book emporium. I see that Betsy
Brawner Pittman is signed up for Living
Room Learning this year (19th-century
French fiction), goody!
Cay Ramey Wiemer: All of the class of
’59 Sweet Briar Book Club were distressed by the death of Mary Picton
Payne Hester on Jan. 9 after a brave
struggle with colon cancer. She leaves a
spot that cannot be filled. Betsy Colwill
Weigers and her husband George, Virginia MacKethan Kitchen, Courtney
Gibson Pelley and her husband Herb,
Susan Taylor were among the many people there for her memorial service and
to support each other.
Debbie Von Reischach Snyder: Don and
I were in Boothbay from the beginning of
June thru Oct. 1 with lots of sailing and
golf. We were married in Maine, July 2.
Don’s grandson (19) was his Best Man
and my granddaughter (12) was my
Maid of Honor. We went back to
Williamsburg for 2 months, with a trip to
Boston for Thanksgiving and then to
N.Y.C. A beautiful Christmas in Williamsburg with Don’s family, and the day after
Christmas to Boston for 3 days to ice
skate at the Boston Common and to
help my grandchildren (4, 6, and 7) on
the baby ski slope. Now have 12 grandchildren between us.
Mary Blair Scott Valentine: There are
no children here to take care of me in
old age. I guess I’ll go to them. Kiawah
Island would be nice and Delray Beach
and Charlotte, N.C.
Polly Space Dunn: Going skiing in Feb.
(Vail). I hope to see Betsy Weigers in
Vail.
Susan Taylor Montague: Pic Payne Hester died Jan. 9. You might not remember
her because she got married after freshman year, but she did attend some
class reunions. Sweet Briar was well
represented at her funeral. I went,
Courtney Pelley went, Betsy Colwill
Wiegers flew in from N.Y.C., Virginia
MacKethan, Tabb Farinholt, Betsy Seaman, Mary Blair Valentine, Sorell
MacElroy, Cay Weimer, Tricia Coxe
Ware, Mary Ballou Williams and Dede
Ulf Mayor all attended the service. The
service was lovely, and it was great seeing everyone despite the sad occasion.
Tabb Thornton Farinholt: The only news
I have is about the death of our classmate, with us only freshman year, Mary
Pickton “Pickie” Payne; she came to
prefer “Pic.” She left to marry Pat Hester with whom she had 3 children and
went on to get her doctorate in psychology; she had developed a respected
practice in Richmond. She was a part of

43

our book group; we were all pulling for
her through the horrendous treatments.
I continue to be grateful for our health
and avidly follow the activities of our 6
grandchildren.
Kathy Tyler Sheldon: I was to receive
once again a Christmas parcel from the
’59 Book Club in Richmond. They sent
one last year with many small goodies
and it certainly made my bleak, cold
Jan. The beautiful gold butterfly sent by
Pickie Payne reminds me each day of
her.
Dede Ulf Mayer: Six years ago I moved
to Richmond, Va. and am so thankful
that I did. My 2 sons and their wives
and my 4 grandchildren all live here, as
well as wonderful friends, especially the
SBC Book Club members (Tricia Ware,
Mary Blair Valentine, Betsy Seaman,
Cay Weimer, Tabb Farinholt, Sorrel
McElroy, and Mary Ballou Williams.)
We all miss Pickie. Two weeks ago I inadvertently sat next to Betsy Muhlenfeld
at a lecture and was so surprised. She
is also a Richmond resident.
Judy Welton Sargent: All is well in
Austin. My grandson (4) and I are taking
a weekly music class at the Austin
School of Music. It’s so much fun to
have him to myself for part of the day.
In Nov., I was in N.Y.C. for a week and
had a wonderful evening with Di
Doscher Spurdle. My hopes for 2012: a
great job for daughter Susan, good
health for all, and the sale of my home
in Wilmington.
Ali Wood Thompson: Travis has taken
up the ukulele, so we spend 2 nights a
week at 2 different ukulele functions.
It’s whale watching season and my first
cousin from Maine is staying here for 3
weeks.
P.S. Keep me abreast of all address,
phone, and email changes…remember,
if you want me to resend you the address list, just drop me an email: travisnali@hawaii.rr.com.

1960
Carol Barnard Ottenberg
1420 41st Ave. E
Seattle, WA 98112
ottenbergc@aol.com
Anita Perrin Grymes (Richmond, Va.): I
was married in Dec. to Richard Towell, a
former colleague at Collegiate where we
taught. We enjoy traveling, visiting museums, hiking and kayaking.
Jane Ellis Covington (Richmond, Va.):
I’m reeling from the success of a Picasso exhibit at the Va. Museum! Red
Dog and I are spending much time at
the newly-purchased farm between Richmond and Charlottesville.
Isabel Ware Burch (Williamsburg, Va.): I
finished my job as Head of the Rector
Search Committee at Bruton Parish
Church. In May, 7 members of our
class, Teddy Hill, Grace Suttle, Jane
Covington, Anita Towell, Margot Saur
Meyer, Liz Few Penfield, and I gathered
at Water View, a family house on the
Rappahannock River. Jane and I are
thinking about our 55th Reunion and
want everyone to be there!”
Jane Tatman Walker (Indianapolis, Ind.):
We have a very small number of alumnae here. My recent contacts have been
with 2 young alumnae, Kelly Hughes

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Kaufman ’03 and Jan Jennings Need
’05, both young mothers. They came to
my Dec. 2010 Indianapolis area alumnae luncheon. Frank and I moved last
fall to a new home. Address: 343 Millridge Drive, Indianapolis, IN 46290.
New phone number: 317-564-4470.
Rebecca Towill McNair (Charlotte,
N.C.): Daughter Harriet reported on her
wonderful 25th SBC Reunion. With 7
granddaughters, I’m hoping we can continue the trend. I keep in touch with
classmates, most recently Susan Hendricks Slayman and Jean Morris
Stevenson, both of whom still travel a
lot. Susan was off to Europe. Jean was
fulfilling her responsibility on a Texas
jury among other ventures.
Melinda Moore Sweet Held (Sharon,
Conn.): My main contact for the class of
’60 is Katie Mendelson McDonald.
Both of us left school in 1958, me to
marry the wrong man from UVa Law
School (corrected many years later with
Dr. Right), and she to go back to her
N.Y. roots, flourish and marry Jack. I am
retired from a 30-year law practice in
N.Y.C. Involved in affordable housing,
land trust work and 24/7 with my husband.
Ginger Newman Blanchard (Green Village, N.J.): I’m in charge of a regional
meeting for the National Society of Colonial Dames this fall. Bob and I had a
nice visit with Dotsie Woods and her
husband at a Dames meeting in
Natchez, Miss.
Patricia Russell Howard (Toronto, Ontario) continues her new full-time career
of painting. You may view her work on
her website, www.patriciahoward.ca.
Lura Coleman Wampler (Wayne, Pa.):
My life is a mix of tending gardens and
horses, participating in church and garden club activities, and playing with our
7 grandchildren. I’m currently a Garden
Club of America horticulture judge, and
also apprenticing as a photography
judge.
Carolyn Gough Harding (Sterling, Va.):
We took a trip to Scandinavia this June,
visiting Copenhagen, Norway and Sweden. I continue to sub in the Fairfax, Va.
Adult English as a Second Language
program. Our 2 grandchildren provide us
unlimited fun.
Ann Crowell Lemmon (Sandy Springs,
Georgia): We have just returned from
the beach at Isle of Palms, S.C., where
Phyz and I celebrated our 50th wedding
anniversary with our 2 children, their
spouses, and 5 grandchildren.
Liz Few Penfield (Carbondale, Colo.):
Teddy and I seem to be traveling a good
deal, yo-yoing between New Orleans and
Carbondale, with a month in Kenya, a
couple of trips to N.Y., some time at the
beach (Edisto, S.C.) and various short
hops to places nearby like Santa Fe.
We’ve seen Ellen Pringle Read, Betty
Forsythe Harris, Elizabeth Meade
Howard, Grace Suttle, Anita Towell,
Jane Covington, Isabel Burch, Margo
Meyer, and Nancy Gibbes. We’re planning to get together in the fall with
Grace, Betty, Kadri Niider and Norris
Smith in N.Y.
Anne Rienecke Clarke (Wilton, Conn.):
Last May, I visited Gwen Speel Kaplan
in Richmond, Va. We had lunch with
Patti Powell Pusey and Grace Suttle. I
see Gwen regularly; she lived around

the corner from me for years. Travel consists of 3 or 4 months in Venice, Fla., at
my place there, and monthly visits to
Long Island to see my daughter’s family
(3 grandsons, 2 dogs, 1 cat and 1 husband!)
Nancy Corson Gibbes (Columbia, S.C.):
Had a marvelous trip with my art museum curator to Rome and Florence.
Had a great, if brief, visit with Teddy and
Liz in New Orleans in Feb., and in July
headed out to see Jane Yerkes in Seattle for a week’s playtime. Meanwhile, I
still play tennis and follow art shows all
over town.
Jane Milholland Yerkes (Seattle Wash.):
We are taking Nancy Gibbes to Mazama
(a country retreat in eastern Wash.) for
a few days—thought it would be fun for
her to see the REAL west.
Elizabeth Meade Howard (Charlottesville, Va.): Just back from a week
at Chautauqua and will fly to Ireland
with a friend in fall. Pleased to have a
recent essay in Virginia Living on the
quandaries of divesting family ‘stuff.’”
Ann Weingart Teig (Oslo, Norway): I am
well and active, enough to invite my
grandson (15) to N.Y.C. for a week—I
wore him out! We spend summers at
our cabin by the Oslofjord.
Lucy Martin Gianino (New York, N.Y.):
Our daughter and grandchildren spend
the summer with us while her husband,
son of Lura Coleman Wampler, travels
back and forth on weekends. Lura and
husband Fred were just here for a 3-day
visit. Our son, an actor, is about to
leave for LA for 10 weeks to do a new
adaptation of The Trojan Women. I’m
still busy with acting and keeping my
hand in Real Estate for Corcoran Group.
Carol Barnard Ottenberg (Seattle,
Wash.): I’m about to head north to Lake
Superior and Isle Royale on a National
Parks Conservation Assn. tour, learning
about the fur trade, Ojibwe native culture, and moose/wolf wildlife studies.
The Adirondacks and Maine, permanent
summer haunts, should seem tame after all that.

1963
Jane Goodridge
31-C Archdale St.
Charleston, SC 29401
Jane1729@att.net
Valerie is in the U.S. in summer and
Paris in winter and rents her apt. She
has an apt. in Park Slope, Brooklyn,
near her youngest son and twin grandchildren Lulu and Burke (5).
Tish Skinner Dace has been doing a lot
of traveling: 9 weeks in Europe in fall
2010; 5 weeks on her own roaming
China in spring 2011; and 2 weeks in

Egypt in fall 2011 on a tour which
turned out to be just her and a guide because Americans are avoiding Egypt.
During these trips she worked on her
new book “Martin Sherman: Skipping
Over Quicksand,” which was published
in Jan. She calls the Caribbean Island
Bonaire home.
Sallie Yon Williams spent Feb. in Istanbul, Turkey, where her son Courtney and
his wife Nazli live with her grandsons
Sedik and Emyr. Son Whit is well-settled
in N.Y. with his new wife and granddaughter Allegra (9). Sallie spends a lot
of time with her grandchildren, but still
manages to volunteer at the beach hospital.
In July, Keitt Matheson Wood and Frank
joined Anne Carter Brothers and John
for a trip through the Canadian Rockies,
then went to Turkey in Oct. and explored
Istanbul and areas associated with St.
Paul and the early Christians. Closer to
home she terms Denver and Kansas
City constants as they visit children and
grandchildren.
Lucetta Gardner Mannion and Ed took a
Caribbean cruise in Jan. and stopped in
Vero Beach for a visit with Betty Stanly
Cates on their way home where they are
involved with Meals on Wheels and the
Williamson County (Tenn.) Election
Board.
Mary Ann Utterback Burritt keeps busy
minding grandchildren and doing volunteer work with the International Order of
the King’s Daughters at the city and
state levels. In Feb. she left for Ecuador
and the Galapagos Islands for 2 weeks.
In Feb., Ginger Cates Mitchell and Ed
spent 3 weeks in India, which in spite of
the humongous amount of people,
poverty, and pollution was quite an
amazing experience!
In June 2010, Harriet Reese Jensen
had a visit in DK from Nerissa Vom Baur
Rohrs and her husband Heinrich who
were touring Scandinavia. In July she
took her granddaughter (15) to Beaver
Dam, Wis., to visit friends for 5 days.
Then she flew to Boston and visited her
Reese cousins in Martha’s Vineyard. In
Dec. she celebrated her birthday with
her children and looked forward to a trip
to the Virgin Islands.
Barby Rockefeller Bartlett (Fla.) and
John are healthy and hoping to catch up
with Betty Stanly Cates. They visited
Gini Joachim Wade Baldwin last spring
in Calif. and traveled to Venice and
Croatia in June. They have 6 grandchildren, 5 boys and 1 girl!
Ann Clute Obenshain is still in Ky. and
in the midst of renovating a 35-year-old
house. She spent Christmas in Belgium
with both daughters; Liza still lives in
Louisville and Meg in Paris. Ann had dinner with Judy Kay Alspaugh Harrison.
Lee Kucewicz Parham keeps busy as
Regent of her local DAR and chairman
of a state committee. She’d like to hear
from classmates who are also DAR
members to compare notes. She and
John continue to enjoy retirement and
grandchildren Emmeline (6th grade) and
Jackson (9th grade). She, Stevie
Fontaine Keown, and Kathy Caldwell
Patten get together often for lunch and
to catch up. The Keowns and the
Parhams are planning a trip to Richmond to visit Lucy Boyd Lemon Edmunds this summer.

Margaret Millender Holmes moved to
Vt. 3 years ago to share the granddaugthers’ love of horses. After 45
years without riding a friend calls her a
“born again” rider. She is looking forward to our 50th Reunion not only as an
opportunity to reconnect with all of you,
but another chance to see the beautiful
SB campus from horseback.
In neighboring Mass., Prue Gay Stuhr
now has 2 Dalmatians with the addition
of puppy “Ticket.” Prue has become
more active in the regional Dalmatian
Club, enjoying photographing various
club events and working on her writing
skills for Dalmatian publications. Ed and
Prue enjoy an annual trip to
Williamstown (Mass.) Theatre. She and
Ed attend various events to watch their
5 grandchildren perform and participate
in their school activities.
Ann Knickerbocker McCulloch has 7
grandchildren in Houston who are busy
with sports. She’s able to get a horseback ride in too.
Lucy Otis Anderson and David are
grandparents to Anderson Graham Cook
(1).
Rinda King deBeck wrote that she is
still teaching history at UNC-Greensboro
and enjoying life including her 6 grandchildren.
Mary Lou Morton Seilheimer and
Charles are also enjoying grandchildren
who live in Charlottesville; Charles and
his wife Nora have Henry (3) and
Parthie (2). Anne and her husband Josh
live in Geneva, Switzerland, have Julian
(5) and Louisa (3). She and Charlie have
an annual travel schedule: N.Y. in Jan.
for antiques; Fla. in Feb. to see her
brother and sister; New England in Aug.;
and Geneva in fall.
Lynn Carol Blau and Jeffrey still live in
West Hartford, Conn., and enjoy their
apt. in N.Y.C. Lynn is active on the
board of the New Britain Museum of
American Art and the Hartford Art
School. Like many of us they like to visit
parents, children, and grandchildren.
Lynn’s mother is in Delray Beach, Fla.,
and her children and grandchildren are
in Nashville and Las Vegas.
Jean Meyer Aloe wrote an update: She
had 2 back surgeries Jan. ’09; received
M.A. in Creative Writing (poetry) May
’09; elected to Pen Women in Letters
Sept. ’10; retired April ’11 to move with
Ed to Arlington, Va., to be near one of
their daughters and her family. They
have 3 grandsons and 1 granddaughter.
Karen Gill Meyer and Jim continue to
work as they love their clients. They
have a great partner, which allows them
to travel and spend long weekends in
Colo. during the summer. Karen is the
Chair of the Investment Committee on
the SB Board.
As for me, I’ve done a little wandering
during the past year. I took a cruise
from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso in Jan.
2011 and visited Turkey, Egypt, and
some Greek islands last fall. I continue
to slog through Arabic courses at the
College of Charleston.

1964

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine

Virginia “Ginny” deBuys
H16 Shirley Ln.
Lawrenceville, NJ 08648
gdebuys@comcast.net
Nancy Lynah Hood has produced a
book, “Fisher Row and the Watery Margins of Oxford Through Time” using old
and new photos to tell the story of the
area where she lives. Her travels are numerous! Nancy completed the Hong Trail
path, 50k across Hong Kong Island and
looks forward to more trails next year.
Mary Duer Colen has had a happy year.
Joe’s daughter was married last summer. Daughters Jennifer and Ambler
each gave birth to their 3rd child. She
now has 8 grandchildren. She spends
more and more time at the farm, although Gladwyne will continue to be our
primary address.
Svarna Wendy Wilkins enjoys 2 homes,
one in N.H. and one in Calif. She still
goes to Berkeley, Calif., often and sees
Carrie Peyton Walker. It’s wonderful to
be best friends with her former SBC
roommate!
Ashton Barfield has scaled down my
volunteer activities (Roosevelt Island
politics) to free up time for redoing her
apt., but is still the copyeditor-plus of a
biweekly newspaper.
Dottie Norris Schipper: “I visited with
Caroline Keller Theus and husband Jim
this summer in Cashiers, N.C. Harriet
and Charlie Shaffer also visited during
that time. I’m dancing about 6 hrs a
week with my partner Roy who is a national ballroom champion. He and I were
contestants in Dancing with the Carolina
Stars for a local fundraiser along with
18 other couples. Many thanks to the
classmates who supported us! Roy and
I started a Teen Ballroom Dance Program, which is free to all Greenville
Teens. The idea was based on the true
story of a successful program in the
N.Y.C. inner schools. I’m working with
my photography when I have time. A
month ago, when Newt was in
Greenville, I was his local photographer.”
Penny Writer Theis: “We’re now up to 6
grandkids (2 from each of our 3 children). They live in Charlotte, Chicago
and upstate N.Y. We’re enjoying life in
our condo in the Cleveland area. It’s
large enough to hold all the kids and
grandkids when they have a chance to
visit. Stu and I are looking forward to
celebrating our 70th birthdays with a
Viking River Cruise trip in the fall with
stops at Versailles, Normandy Beaches,
Paris, etc.”
JoAnn Soderquist Kramer retired at the
end of Sept. and says she’s figuring out
what to do when she grows up. “I took a
river cruise of The Netherlands and Belgium this spring with Vesta Lee Gordon
(VM’s friend from childhood in Charlottesville, with whom I have taken several trips).”
Vera LeCraw Carvaillo writes: “It finally
happened! We’re retired and delighted.
We’re enjoying being free of the pressure of the business and having the
time to appreciate our many blessings.
Our children, Patricia and Jean-Philippe
are less than 15 min. apart, so we’ve
easily assumed our role as grandparents.”

Rosamond Sample Brown-Banks reports that she and husband David continue in good health splitting their time
between Dallas and Fayetteville, Ark. A
special treat last year was being in
Charleston, S.C., and having lunch with
her roommate Kathleen Stevenson
Turner and her husband Bill. Last April,
she was in D.C. and had lunch with
Grace Mary Oates. She gave her tips on
Rome that she used in June with her
step-granddaughter. She and David took
a 3-week trip to Spain in Sept. She’s
taking her sons and daughter-in-law to
Costa Rica in April. She’ll pass the big
7-0 deep in the rainforest.
Sharon Van Cleve Cipriano: “I’m still
working as a jewelry designer, and my
husband and I have lived in Tubac, Ariz.,
for the past 5 years. It’s a lovely place
to live; however, it’s hot in the summer
so we divide time between Tubac and
Cuenca, Ecuador. Cuenca is safe, economical, culturally diverse and stunningly beautiful.”
Nancy Hall Green: “Holcombe and I are
in St. Barth for 5 weeks. Like many of
us, I will pass the big 70 here on the island and will try not to attach too much
significance to this event. We spend a
lot of time in N.Y. where we have a new
granddaughter born to Frank and Molly
Green on 11/11/11, an auspicious
date I’m told. Our other son, Holcombe,
and his wife Monica also live in N.Y. and
have 2 girls (6 and 3). We have a new
house in France outside of St. Remy in
a little Provençal town called St. Etienne
du Gres. Would love to welcome any
SBC friends when it’s finished. You can
gather that we spend little time in Atlanta. When there however, I try to catch
up with SB friends Jane Wheeler, Susan
Croft, and Harriet Shaffer. We visited
Emily ’65 and Zach Smith in Charlotte
and while there I was able to visit and
reminisce with Caroline Tate.”
Joan Moore Biddle: “Nick and I traveled
to India and Nepal for 2 weeks in early
Nov. While in Nepal we took a flight to
see the Himalayas up close. We’ve the
ongoing pleasure of visiting our daughter, Barbara, Peter, and our 2 grandchildren, Emmet and Ellie, either here in
Temecula or at their home in Redondo
Beach nearby.”
Marsh Metcalf Seymour is now living in
Calif. where she and Jack are enjoying
the sparkling light (sun), the scent of
roses, lavender and rosemary and the
call of the coyote. They went with The
Friends of the Freer and Sackler Galleries on a curator-led trip to Korea.
As I (Ginny) go to press, I’ve just received the sad news that Sheila Carroll
Cooprider has died from a fall caused
by her Parkinson’s disease. She had
just written to me about plans to travel
to the Caribbean, Panama and Costa
Rica this Feb. and to continue her Sister
Act—an annual reunion with her sisters
in Sarasota. Her note to me was from a
person living her life to the fullest. She
was Reverend Cooprider to the end and
had no plans to fully retire. She was enjoying her new home in Colo. and being
near her children and grandchildren.

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44

Anne Litle Poulet is now retired from
the Frick and is splitting her time between a home in the Boston area and
Paris. VM Del Greco Galgano’s news is
that she has SBC connections on her
mind. JoAnn Soderquist Kramer and
Mollie Johnson Nelson visited after their
SBC board meeting and Dona Van Arsdale Jones and I are trying to arrange a
“meet in the middle” lunch with Grace
Mary Gary Oates and Gail Rothrock
Trozzo. Old friends remain great treasures! Let’s start a trend of connecting...Suggestions anyone? It just takes
a phone call or email and remembering
to put that special date (May 30-June 1,
2014) on the calendar. Yes, we’re turning 70, but we can think and feel 50 if
we all come to our 50th Reunion! As for
me, I’m happily enjoying 4 mos. in Sarasota, Fla. We’re expecting newly retired
Libby Kopper Scholleart and Jim for a
visit soon. (Last season, we took a day
trip to Naples, where Lynn Youngs Esmay gave us a delicious lunch and tour
of her favorite spot.) Earlier in the year
we went to Brevard, N.C. to see Milbrey
Sebring Raney ’65 and Bev and on the
way stopped at Sweet Briar for a night.
Band camp was in session. We toured
the new fitness center, watched bands
marching on the athletic fields during
dinner, and saw young deer cavorting in
the dell near Sweet Briar house. The
campus never sleeps! Happy 70 and, as
Dottie might say, keep dancing!

1965
Sally Hubbard
52 Sherwood Trail
Sewanee, TN 37375-2166
sally@hubbard.net
The loss of our classmate, Alice Perry
Park, on 12/11/11, prompted increased email and questions about our
class numbers. There have been 20
deaths since 1977, and 156 of us are
living. Messages of sorrow and condolence were received from Laura Haskell
Phinizy, Gabrielle Fraser Hale, Saralyn
McAfee Smith, and Stephanie Eggleston Harrover. Then the computer
crashed; apologies for any messages
that are missing from this report.
Sarah Porter Boehmler remembered
how extraordinary it was for Alice to attend reunions all the way from
Guatemala.
Melinda Musgrove Chapman expressed
sorrow about Alice’s death, and says
what keeps her going are her grandchildren, working out 3 times a week, and
her real estate job.
Mary Ellen Freese Cota’s husband Alberto turned 80 this year. Mel and Alberto go almost every weekend to visit
his widowed sister Rosa in San Luis de
la Paz, Guanajuato. Mel studies yoga
journals in preparation for teaching and
doing yoga, and loves being with her
grandchildren.
Alice Virginia Dodd wrote about the 20
classmates we have lost and paused to
remember them.
Alice Foster Ficken said she could not
imagine our 50th Reunion without enthusiastic and generous Alice.
Elizabeth Hunt’s son Hunt Allcott (31)
received a $3 million grant from the
McArthur Foundation for his pollution research. Beth’s daughter Elizabeth works
for the award-winning King Estate Win-

45

ery in Ore. Husband John continues in
the practice of medicine. Beth continues
seeing adults and couples in her psychology practice. Once a year Beth sees
Mimi Vogt Macht. Mimi gives French
and German lessons.
Libba Hanger Luther and her husband
Steve lived in Guatemala City in the mid70s and Libba reminds us that Alice
Perry was president of her family’s
meat packing company, Empacadora
Perry, which she took charge of after
her father’s death during our years at
Sweet Briar. Alice later married Bob
Park. Her mother had recently died before our last Reunion. She is survived
by her brother Jim and one nephew. Her
wry little smile, laugh, dry sense of humor, and honesty will be so missed
when we gather for our 50th. Please
note in your records that Libba’s new
address is Libbalu@gmail.com.
Dana Wasson Noyes Paulus wrote that
she enjoyed seeing other alumnae on a
SBC trip to Sicily a few years ago and
appreciates getting news about our
class.
Milbrey Sebring Raney has talked with
Alice’s husband Bob several times since
her death. She has both his and Alice’s
brother’s mail and email addresses if
any of you want to contact them. Recently Milbrey sang the Rutter anthem
of George Herbert’s “God Be in My
Head” at church, and tears made it difficult to sing the last line, “God be at my
end, and at my departing.” But she
heard Alice’s voice teasing her, “Oh,
come on, Mibs, you can do it!” She
sang it well and with a smile.
Sally McCrady Hubbard retired from the
Music Festival in Aug. primarily because
of increased caregiving duties at home,
but also geriatric resistance to adding
Twitter, Facebook, etc. etc. to an already busy work day, dang. Her husband
Charles began hemodialysis in Jan.
Book club, chorale, a writers’ group, two
local brothers, and grandson Duncan,
who plays violin, keep her going.
We should all begin to think about
whether we’d like to plan a group trip after our 50th. Be thinking about it; and
contact our class president, Brenda
Muhlinghaus Barger, or Sally with your
ideas. Wouldn’t it be fun!

1967
Diane Dalton
1014 N Astor St., Apt 43
Milwaukee, WI 53202
dianebdalton@gmail.com
With sadness I report the death of Judy
Keyserling in Feb. Judy worked for the
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, the
Washington Ballet and the Milwaukee
Symphony before founding her public relations firm, Keyserling & Assoc. I enjoyed renewing my acquaintance with
Judy when she lived in Milwaukee.
Carroll Randolph Barr will be on a golf
vacation to Ireland and will miss our
45th Reunion. She enjoyed a small
gathering of House 3 girls in Yulee, Fla.,
with Shelly Gearhart Lindstrom, Jacqueline Stevenson Bennett, Beth Glaser
Isaacs, Lisa Braden Moody, Margy
Dortch Brooks, Gayle Dearborn Vance,
and hostess, Emily Chenoweth.
Ginny Stanley Douglas and Bill live in
the same neighborhood as their daughter and her family and enjoy having time
with their grandchildren, Miles (7) and
Genevieve (5). They’re just finishing a
major house and garden remodel and
have traveled to England and the Baltic
countries and will be going to Egypt and
Jordan in 2012.
Linda Fite: I retired from my job at the
Times Herald-Record in late June of
2011—a great 20 years. In Jan., I went
with 2 of my sisters and their husbands
for a 10-day trip to Costa Rica. I’m renting a corner of an artist friend’s studio
and am painting again. I have 6 loving
grandchildren. I feel so very blessed.
Toni Naren Gates’s daughter Lindsey
moved back to N.Y. from San Francisco
with her son Jake. Lindsey is back to
her acting career. Son, Ryan and his
family have moved to Wichita. Ryan is
working for his father, Bud. Ryan and his
wife, Kate, now have a son (1). Toni is
very involved with the 2 museums in
town.
Adele Laslie Kellman retired from her
career as an actuary in 2005, and she
and Paul have been traveling and spending summers at their 2nd home in Great
Barrington, Mass., where they enjoy going to Tanglewood, seeing theater and
dance, hiking and kayaking. Both kids
live in N.Y.C. with their significant others.
Victoria Baker continues to enjoy retirement, teaching an occasional anthropology course and engaging in travel and
ballroom dance with partner Lee Daigle.
This year they spent a vacation in the
Netherlands with Victoria’s son, and
also explored parts of Egypt, Turkey,
Greece, and Italy.
Betsy Kurtz Argo and husband Jim live
in Mich. full time, up near Charlevoix.
She retired from Columbus School for
Girls about 3 years ago and never
looked back. They return home to
Columbus once a month to check on
Betsy’s mother (98). The 3 girls are all
married and they’re grandparents to 4.
Betsy keeps busy as a community and
church volunteer. She gave up on the
horses and the foxhunting after 30
years and 2 knee replacements.
Mary Azima Jackson (formerly Bonnie)
enjoyed singing in a cabaret in the
N.Y.C. theater district last winter. She’ll
be opening a retreat center in Costa
Rica. Check out her work on her web-

site, www.ahouseoflight.com.
Lindsay Smith Newsom had a wonderful
rendezvous with Sue Morck Perrin and
Bill at their house on Pawley’s Island
last Aug. In mid Feb., she and Mac went
to Vietnam and Cambodia. She’s looking forward to coming to our 45th in
May.
Mellie Hickey Nelson and Paul are well.
She reminded me that her son Gunner
took his first steps at our 15th Reunion!
Anne Stuart Brown Swann keeps in
touch with 2 classmates who are now
part of her family, Peggy Kennedy (married to brother Hill Brown) and Linda
Grizzard (married to cousin Wallace
Tiffany, Jr.). She enjoyed seeing Genie
Bull Ryner several months ago. Genie
and Steve live in Northern Va. She and
Kirk are still in Bethesda, Md., in the
same house, keeping up with their 5
grandchildren. Older son, Kirk III, and
his wife are parents to Will (6), Henry
(4) and Charlotte (1), and James and his
wife have 2 little girls, Grier (2) and Elyse (7 months).
Pam Ford Kelley: I continue to work as I
found I missed the connection I’d had
with beautiful fabrics after selling my
company, Rue de France. Three years
ago I teamed up with a friend in the U.S.
and a wonderful Indian textile company
to produce a bed linen and pillow collection that we sell at the large trade show
in Paris, Maison et Objet. It gives me an
added excuse to get to Paris twice a
year. Plus I’ve had the chance to learn
about a new culture and go to Delhi to
prepare the fall line. We’ve got customers in Russia, Italy, the UK and
Japan.
Pam was diagnosed with cancer of the
tongue, which meant surgery and head
and neck radiation. That’s posed its
own set of challenges in getting back to
the new “normal” as radiation is very
destructive, but she’s feeling fine and
her speech is fairly good—even in
French. Then her husband was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma. Thank
goodness it’s a slow version of this
blood cancer that seems to be maintained by chemo in pill form.
Gracey Stoddard has worked for Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney for the
past 3 years, loves it. She’s also involved with several committees at her
church and a new non-profit board, The
African Dream Academy. Gracey enjoys
opera, jazz concerts and traveling. She
will travel to China this spring and miss
our Reunion.
Marion MacRae is in Alexandria, Va.,
where she keeps busy with volunteer
work and tennis. Her mother (92) died
last summer, and she’s been busy settling her affairs.
Randy Brown says that after teaching
for 44 years, she hit a “big bump” and
had to have half of her right lung and
parts of several ribs removed. She appreciates every day and everyone!
Direxa Dick Dearie is busy teaching and
with her 8 grandchildren.
Jill Berguido Gill: Bruce and I have been
living in our circa-1884 Haverford home
for almost 28 years. Bruce is still the director and curator of the historic Harriton House in Bryn Mawr. My son, Tim
Clement, is pursuing a master’s degree
in public health at Drexel. I’m still doing
freelance tutoring, working with children
from elementary to high school age. I
have no plans for retirement as yet, as I

enjoy my work. I enjoy taking long walks
with my dog and spending time gardening. I’m a lay reader and chalice bearer
at Christ Church, Philadelphia.
Stephanie Ewalt Coleman writes that by
far the most thrilling event of 2011 was
the birth of her first grandchild! Reagan
Grace Ayers, daughter of son, Lee, and
his wife, Amanda, was born in May.
Then in Oct. she and husband Ron enjoyed their first Mediterranean cruise,
which was fabulous.
Jane Stephenson Wilson: I love this
time of life and am head-over-heels in
love with my 3 grandsons. The twins are
1 ½ and their brother is almost 4. I’m
lucky to have them close. And I’m
amazed to think that we left SBC 45
years ago!
After 30 years with Milwaukee Rep, I retired last summer and spent 5 weeks in
Canada transitioning to my new life
style. I remain involved with the Rep as
a volunteer serving on the Friends of the
Rep Board. And, I remain active in my
volunteer work with SBC. Along with
Jane Eastin Hager, I serve on the SBC
Board of Directors. I want you all to
know that SBC finances are in Jane’s
capable hands as Chair of Finance.
Many of you have sent glowing comments about your years at SBC—I hope
to see you all at Reunion because I
know you’ll find it’s better than ever.

well Jr. We had a wonderful two years
together, but sadly he suffered a massive heart attack on Christmas. I console myself with the thought that we
shared two years of days in the sun together.
Amy Thompson McCandless travels
with her sons the week after Christmas
each year. In recent years they have
gone to Costa Rica, Spain, and in 2011
to Paris. She continues as dean of the
graduate school at the College of
Charleston. She was part of a Historical
Studies Delegation to South Africa; and
she led a trip to England and Wales in
2011.

1968

1750 Chippewa Trail
Maitland, FL 32751
cfoglesong@cfl.rr.com

Lynne Gardner Detmer
125 Wareham’s Point
Williamsburg, VA 23185
lgdetmer@aol.com
Ladies, do you remember where your envelope is? Have you added to it each
year? Our 45th Reunion is May 31- June
2, 2013. We have SUCH a good time together, and so I hope that each and
every one of you will put it on your calendars right now—in INK. The last time
I sent out a request for news, I had almost 50% out of date email addresses.
Please send me your new ones! I need
your help! And send news via email or in
Christmas letters.
Suzanne Edinger Boas retired from
CredAbility in June 2011. She was president of the nonprofit credit counseling
and education agency for 19 years.
Lynne Gardner Detmer (yours truly) and
Jim went on a cruise over Christmas
2011. We started in Cape Town, S.A.,
and cruised the Indian Ocean all the
way to Singapore. 35 days at sea, with
23 ports of call. Wonderful!
Frances Kirven Morse: We enjoy our retirement in Calif. I’m still involved with
The Art of Yoga Project, doing yoga and
creative arts with incarcerated teen girls
in San Mateo County.
Sally Paradise Ingber married Tom Diamont in Jan. 2011. She says, “It was a
full year with time in Hawaii, and our
honeymoon in Paris and Greece.” Anne
Hinshaw Vanderweil visited Sally in
June.
Kristin Alexandre Kuhns: I’ve just completed my 3rd book, a graphic novel,
called “Nuncio and the Gypsy Girl in the
Gilded Age.” The story is being translated into a script for a TV series and
has launched a whole new career for
me.
Gina Rulon-Miller Caldwell: I married
the love of my life, Robert Henry Cald-

Beverly Van Zandt
220 North Zapata Hwy No. 11
Laredo, TX 78043
beverlyvz@gmail.com
Andrea Bateman: I’m still lawyering. I’ve
become active through church delivering
food to families of homeless school children through their guidance counselors,
and I’m serving on the Outreach Committee. I’m part of a writing workshop
and volunteering for a historic museum.
Barbara Brand: My husband, Michael
O’Heeron, died in Aug. of pneumonia.
He had just completed 3 months of intensive chemotherapy for recurrence of
oral cancer, which he had been battling
since 2008. So, keeping very busy has
been my best therapy. I missed our
40th Reunion, but will see you all at our
45th.
Wendy Norton Brown: Our first grandchild was born 9/30/11! We are thrilled
to be babysitting him 4 days a week for
a few months until he gets into day
care.
Kate Comer Diehl: Last year, I moved in
with my pregnant daughter Genna and
her husband Mark Tricarico to help out
with the arrival of my first granddaughter. Baby Ileana Johanna Tricarico was
born 8/8/11, and I’m having the time
of my life taking care of her and her
momma and pappa. My son Justin and
his fiance Mandy also live in Petaluma,
so every day brings more joy and challenges.
Brooke Thomas Dold: It was so impressive to see how the sad news of Gale’s
illness brought everyone together elec-

tronically. I’m still working full time as a
paralegal for a law firm that specializes
in Municipal Finance (our clients are utlity districts). Wylie is retired and anxious for me to retire. Two of my children
are married. My youngest daughter is
working on her degree in fashion design.
My mother continues to enjoy good
health, and I try to visit her in Conn. often.
Brooke Carol Remington Foglesong:
Our 40th Reunion in May was great. If
you were there, you know; if you
weren’t, you missed it, and we missed
you. We reconnected with smiles, hugs
and conversations Fri. night. We burned
up the dance floor and showed the others how to have a good time Sat. night.
And without 1971, there wouldn’t have
been much (if any) choir for Sun. Alumnae Memorial Chapel.
Bev Van Zandt, Anne Milbank Mell and
I agreed to be class secretaries. We
each have 1/3 of the class. Don’t forget
your special moment photos when you
submit. You can find a crop of us (about
45) connected via FB and our Sweet
Briar College Class of 1971 group page.
Kathleen Burns Halperin: I’m so delighted to be using my prime gift of joy
leading Laughter Workshops. In these
fast-paced, somewhat chaotic times, we
forget what a beautiful tool we have to
boost our immune systems, release
stress and help the world raise its happiness frequency. Keep Laughing!
Pamolu Oldham: I loved Patzcuaro, Mexico and plan to be back next year. I was
able to meet many of the potters in their
homes, seeing photos of ancestors who
had lived in the same place, making
pots. I’m back in Fayetteville, N.C., writing, letting go of such a busy, demanding, distracting teaching schedule. So
life is good. Jess, her husband Dan, and
son Will (2) are thriving in Brooklyn.
Jacqueline Penny: All’s well here in Fla.
Still teaching Adult Ed at the nearby
state college part time and giving private computer lessons to the elderly.
Enjoying sunny days, nice beach walks,
my wonderful parents, dear cats and
lots of good books. Planning a trip to
Newfoundland this summer to visit my
father’s new found (pun intended) relatives.
Alicia Yust Rowe: Our news is our new
grandson, Rowan (1). He is number 4
for us and a delight. I continue to be involved with Arts for Rural Texas near
where our farm is, and we enjoy spending weekends there when we can. ARTS
is a small nonprofit bringing the visual
and performing arts to children in rural
areas.
Susan Schmidt: As developmental editor, Susu advises authors how to revise
book manuscripts for publication, both
scholarly and popular, including self-published novels and memoirs: www.susanschmidt.net. Happy in Beaufort, on the
coast of N.C., she rows and kayaks, gardens, walks dog, and does yoga.
Beverly Van Zandt: All is going so well
in San Miguel. Daughters, Beverly and
Roberta, are doing well. Beverly is married and teaching school in Dallas, and
Roberta works in hedge funds in N.Y.C.
Planning a whirlwind trip to Texas, the
east coast, and Aspen this summer.
Working on a nonprofit in Aspen and will
be there the longest time period. Are
there any alumnae nearby? Would love
to get together in Colo.

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine
Miriam Meglan Washabaugh: I’m still
enjoying the challenge of my church job,
and I’m still studying organ. I enjoy following Kristin Herzog’s (’70) development as an artist via Facebook. She’s
so talented. I also enjoy a lively email
correspondence with Susan Greenwald.
Barbara Wuehrmann: I’m still semi-retired working part-time both in Mich. in
the summer/fall and Ariz. in the winter/spring. Winters are spent in Green
Valley, Ariz., where I’m active in the hiking club and working for the United Community Health Center. I keep taking
Spanish lessons. My husband, Jim
Palazzolo, is retired. I have 2 stepsons
and 4 step-grandkids. James (an executive with a medical device company) and
family in Silicon Valley area of Calif. and
Mark (OB-GYN) and family in Orlando,
Fla. I have kept up with Betty Rau Santandrea ’70 in Corning, N.Y.
Diana Zeidel: We love living in Fla.
(summers in Del.) and had a great time
last winter when Mimi Pitts Dixon and
Caroline Tuttle Murray came to visit.
Marilyn Kolb was supposed to come,
but couldn’t at the last minute. We miss
her and wish she had been able to join
us; we were absolutely shocked by her
death. Both Jon and I still do some parttime consulting/training work in D.C.
The best part about it for me is the
chance to see Mimi and Caroline. Caroline and I met in Richmond last Sept.
Our girls are all doing great and our 3
grandchildren are adorable. My parents
live in Fla. near us and are doing well.
Jon stays busy playing tennis. I do some
volunteer work, garden and have
learned to play mah jong.

1973
Evelyn Carter Cowles
PO Box 278
Free Union, VA 22940-0278
ecc52@earthlink.net
Sue Dern Plank: We were in Belize for
several weeks in Nov., then had friends
and family here for the long Thanksgiving weekend. In Jan., I accompanied my
husband to his company’s annual meeting in Savannah, Ga., and caught up
with a friend there. David and I then
headed to Clarksville, Tenn., to see our
daughter and her husband. They’re expecting our first grandchild in June.
Start planning now to attend our 40th
Reunion—it’s just around the corner on
May 31-June 2, 2013—no excuses for
not coming!
Barb Prentiss: My oldest son John and
his wife MacKenzie are expecting their
2nd child in Sept. My son Chris is in the
Coast Guard and has been stationed in
the Middle East since last May. Chris,
and his wife Mackenzie (yes, I have two
daughters-in-law with the same name!),
will be stationed in Hawaii upon his re-

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47

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

"Sweet Briar College is
an experience that I carry
with me every day. I
would say Sweet Briar
College is a laboratory
for experimenting; it's an
environment that
welcomes you to take
risks and grow and then
lovingly sends you into
the world to make your
way. The Happy Cook is
a reflection of my lifelong
passion for the gourmet
experience. Our store
captures my love of
travel, especially French
cuisine and traditions.
I'm proud that we are a
strong part of the
Charlottesville
community and
innovators in the
gourmet retail market."
Monique Moshier, '02
Owner, The Happy Cook

‘A Writer’s Gotta Have Nerve’

SINCE GRADUATING FROM SWEET BRIAR FIVE YEARS AGO
with a degree in English and creative writing, Shavonne Wei-Ming Clarke ’07
has made quite a name for herself. Last fall, her short story “Third Wife” was
published in the Bellevue Literary Review and nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
Set in Singapore, the narrative pays homage to Shavonne’s grandmother, who
was born there and fled to the U.S. during World War II. “Third Wife” is the
result of a novel Shavonne began to write for her senior thesis project at Sweet
Briar.
“The story was an attempt to enter the mind of one of the wives — eight
are spoken of in the novel — so that I could characterize her more effectively if
she were ever mentioned in one of the chapters,” Shavonne explained. “Of
course, Reumah’s story really took on its own life once I began to write it.”
While the novel remains in progress, Shavonne is also working on a new
project — another novel and a short story that is part of it. This summer, she is
traveling to England to finish the first draft of the novel, which is set about
two hours south of London.
“I’m interested in writing about the riots that took place there last
summer, exploring the social and political climate,” she says.
The short story will be published in the next issue of Hayden’s Ferry
Review. With her writing career taking off, Shavonne hasn’t forgotten where it
all started.
“I think I had some idea of how to express myself in writing before I went
to Sweet Briar, but I was bottled up verbally. It was the best place for me to
learn how to speak — and speak up — in a classroom.”
Sweet Briar’s small class sizes and the close collaboration between faculty
and students proved a real advantage for Shavonne.
“I wouldn’t have received the encouragement I did for my thesis at a larger
school,” she said. “It was a unique, important experience, since a writer’s gotta
have nerve, and my professors were nothing but supportive.”
After graduating from Sweet Briar, Shavonne went to Texas A&M
University for a master’s degree in English. Since fall 2010, she’s been pursuing
her M.F.A. in fiction at Purdue University, where she also teaches rhetoric,
composition and creative writing and co-edits the Sycamore Review. ■

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turn. Last Nov. I became director of information technology for the School of
Medicine at the Univ. of Washington.
Jane Perry McCutchen McFadden: Our
oldest son, wife and daughter have
moved to the Charleston area with another granddaughter born in Sept. Such
fun to be grandparents!
Jane Knutson James: Michael is still at
the LA Times (as long as newspapers
exist), and I’m in my 3rd semester of
art classes at a local community college. Our children are married and live
close.
Renee Sterling: There was a wonderful
lunch for incoming students in Dallas
last Sat.; caught up with Ann Stuart
Kling, Tennesee Nielsen, Cissy
Humphrey, Beth Bates and so many
others. The new recruiting literature I
saw was creative and so appealing! Will
try to make Reunion.
Rene Conover Reed: Have been busy
enjoying my granddaughter, Ava (6). In
May, my son Craig will graduate from
Wake Forest Medical School.
Kathy Pretzfelder Steele: Lots happening in our lives this year. We’re building
a home on a lake in Mount Dora, Fla.
and plan to relocate from N.J. this summer. Our daughter, Tracy, an attorney,
moved from Chicago to Atlanta in 2011
and our other daughter, Kelly, an animal
trainer at Sea World, and her husband
live near Orlando and are expecting our
first grandchild in June.
Carol Anne Provence Gallivan: Mills
continues to head up his law firm; loves
it. We’ve been traveling a good bit, as
he has become involved with several attorney organizations. Our oldest daughter, Anne Genevieve, has her own marketing firm in Greenville. Our son,
Henry, is an attorney in Greenville, and
is married to an attorney, Mandy, who is
expecting their first baby and our first
grandchild in mid-March! Harriet, our
youngest daughter, was married last
Dec. to a wonderful young man, Matt,
and they live in West Palm Beach, Fla.
He’s in the Sugar Industry, and she,
with her Masters in OT, works at a Rehab Hospital there.
Linda Lipscomb: I’m enjoying living and
working in Richmond with a lot of commuting back to Dallas. In Richmond, I
have had great visits with Jane Potts,
Lacy Williams, Lisa Wickham Haskell,
and Melinda Williams Davis. Over the
holidays, I was in New Orleans for Cary
Davis King’s daughter’s wedding and
saw Deborah Ziegler Hopkins and Terry
Christovich.
Christine Eng Leventhal: I’m still teaching forensic science, genetics, and authentic science research at Darien High
School, as well as one fitness class a
week at our local parks and rec. Last
summer our extended family spent 2
weeks on Block Island, and I spent a
week at the Henry Lee Institute of
Forensic Science taking a class in Recovery of Human Remains and Forensic
Anthropology. My husband Peter has
been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and we’re learning how best to
deal with it. Our 3 children are doing
well.
Diane Dale Reiling: Chuck and I are enjoying retirement in S. Ore.! I worked at
Macy’s for the holidays. Both of our kids
have been to visit, (Steven is in Seattle
and Erica is now in LA), and they ap-

49

prove. I even organized a SBC Day
luncheon with 3 other alumnae from
Ashland, Ore. I have Reunion 2013 on
my calendar!
Weezie Blakeslee Gilpin has had a
busy, exciting year. Christopher and his
wife Allison are living in Freshwater,
Aus., with first grandbaby, Tillie. Alexa
married Mike Janssen on 10/15 in Luray, Va. Blake and Abbey had their first
child, Bear, on 2/8 in Columbia, S.C. I
hope to see Mac Cuthbert Langley,
Johnny, and any of their children who
are in town while we’re there. I’ve made
the decision to move back east, probably to the Boston area. We’re planning a
cross-country adventure beginning on
May 1, up the west coast to Vancouver,
Lake Louise, and through glacial Mountain Park. Bob’s college consulting business is thriving. A student from my
school has chosen SBC for next fall!
Can’t wait to see everyone at the Reunion in 2013.
Sandie Schwartz Tropper: This past
year I served as chair of The Appraisal
Foundation Advisory Council. I’ve been
the representative of the Am. Society of
Appraisers to the Council for 5 years.
This year I’m also the International
Chair of Education for the Am. Society of
Appraisers. In addition to appraising fine
art, I’ve been teaching principles of valuation courses for personal property appraisers at various universities including
the Univ. of Calif. at Irvine and the R.I.
School of Design.
Reynolds and I are still happily ensconced in our now not-so-new home,
where I enjoy riding, painting, gardening,
hiking, fishing and our trips to Mont. for
more of the same. He still practices veterinarian medicine. I love getting the
news from you all, and I’m looking forward to our 2013 Reunion. So plan on
coming to see new and old friends and
let’s try to have a big turnout.

Meredith Thompson Sullivan
PO Box 1283
Livingston, MT 59047-1283
gigiinmt@aol.com
Elizabeth Andrews Watts writes,
“Bobby and I are enjoying our 20th year
at Episcopal High School, where Bobby
teaches and coaches, and I’m the
school photographer and a member of
the development staff. Our son, Rob,
and his family now live in Norfolk, where
he is stationed with the Navy. Our
daughter, Betsy, and her husband,
David, are living in Atlanta and expecting
their first child, a girl, June 3.”
Mary Bush Norwood was unable to attend our last Reunion because she was
running for Mayor of Atlanta. Regretfully,
Mary didn’t win, but is very busy with
the Atlanta community. Mary and husband Felton served as chairs of the
Southeastern Flower Show in 2011.
Mary is serving as president of the
Cherokee Garden Club, (GCA) and will
be in Washington with GCA talking with
members of Congress on 3/1/12 with
all GCA clubs across the country.
Sandra Taylor is now a compliance man-

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

ager with Suntrust Bank in Richmond,
Va. After serving on the board of
trustees at Sweet Briar for a number of
years, Sandra is now on the board of
the Young Women’s Christian League,
Inc. She’s also awaiting the birth of a
new nephew in March.
Meredith Thompson Sullivan writes,
“John and I are just back from a Feb.
cruise along the west coast of South
America. The highlight of our trip was an
excursion to Machu Picchu. Saw Jo Ellen
Lenoir Blunk ’75 while in Houston for
the holidays. After Christmas, we flew
down to our place at The Boulders in
Carefree, Ariz. We’re leaving in a couple
of weeks to return to the desert.”
Mary Witt concluded her term as president of the UVa Medical Alumni Association. Mary writes, “This was a particular
honor for me, being the first woman in
this position.” Mary, Janie Reeb Short
and Sandra Taylor had a great time at
the Bizarre Bazaar in Richmond. Mary
sees Liz Thomas Camp about twice a
year when work travel takes her to Atlanta. She is very much looking forward
to our next Reunion.
Beth Francke Lynn became a grandmother in Sept. when her daughter, Ann
Bailey, had a baby girl, Lillian Bell
Lipsett. Beth continues her teaching career in northern Va.
Kathryn Telfer writes, “I believe the last
time I had any contact with Sweet Briar
chums (with the exception of Mac Cuthbert Langley) was 1976. Besides having been seriously anorexic from 19741999, I got married in 1982 and had 2
children, Courtenay Elizabeth Johnson
(27) and Telfer Rockwell Johnson (23).
My marriage ended in 1995, but we remain wonderful friends. Between 19831998, I was hospitalized 12 times for
the side effects of anorexia. When my
son was born and diagnosed with
Autism, I began to see that going into
the hospital 4 months out of a year was
impossible. In 1999, I deeply regretted
all the energy I’d poured into leading
such a self-destructive life and changed
my life. However, I had already done too
much irreversible damage, so I will pay
for my behavior for the rest of my life.
I’ve tried to focus on living a self-satisfied, relatively healthy lifestyle. When
I’m not attending to my gamut of health
issues, I do part-time substitute teaching, paint watercolor abstracts, volunteer at the homeless shelter and Arbor
Hospice. I’m very proud of my daughter,
Courtenay, who is an assistant producer
to Bennett Miller (who produced
“Capote” and “Moneyball,” among other
things). My son works at the Sporting
Wear and Gear store that supplies all of
the Univ. of Mich. athletic teams. He
drives and will probably go back to
school to obtain vocational training. I often reflect on what a great experience
college was.
I enjoy seeing Meredith Thompson Sullivan and Tricia Barnett Greenberg at
least once a year. My husband and I
had a wonderful time with Meredith and
John in Mont. last fall and celebrated
our 27th anniversary in Feb. 2011 with
Tricia and Phil in Charleston, S.C. Penn
and I are enjoying our “empty nest” status, although it isn’t very empty with 2
cats and 2 dogs. If any of you are in Atlanta, I’d love to get together. In the
meantime, keep sending your news.

1976
Cissy Humphrey
5016 Les Chateaux Apt. 234
Dallas, TX 75235-8750
cissy1234@yahoo.com
Beth Bates Locke (Dallas) left operations for Priscilla of Boston after 3.5
years and is now executive concierge
with the local Sotheby’s affiliate, Briggs
Freeman. Daughter Becky (20) is going
to Brookhaven College after attending U.
of North Texas. Son Chris has 3 children and is a VP of Southwest Bank
Corp. in Little Rock, Ark. Son Claude
Locke IV has 2 children, is a sergeant
with the Richardson Police Dept. Husband Claude III joined forces with Janimation, where he is executive producer
for live action.
From Birmingham, Ala., Lochrane Coleman Smith writes that Ellen Sellers McDowell ’77 visited in Feb. Ellen’s daughter is in college at Samford U. in B’ham.
In Jan., Lochrane saw Dru Springer Oswalt ’78 and Kathy Jackson Howe ’78
at Mr. Jackson’s funeral.
From Fla., Marian Dolan says, “Remember hearing ‘Nowel, Nowel’ at 4 a.m.
when Sweet Tones caroled in the
dorms?” Well, Marian and The Choir
Project’s Lumina women’s vocal ensemble happily resurrected that piece for
their 2011 Advent concert. She also
wrote them a 9/11 concert called
“Voices of Courage.” Marian was a
guest presenter at Festival 500 choral
week in St. John’s, Newfoundland,
Canada and will return in 2013. Follow
the Choir Project on Facebook.
Lynn Kahler Rogerson enjoyed a luncheon with Maureen O’Hearn Slowinski
and her mother (93). Lynn enjoys continued work on the SBC Friends of Art
Board. Lynn’s daughter is now in 7th
grade and does ballet.
Debrarae Karnes still lives in the house
her father built in 1962 in Stafford, Va.,
still practicing land use law; she scuba
dives and survived 2 knee replacements
about 18 months ago.
Cheryl Lux Cobb’s (Mont.) daughter,
Elizabeth Cobb, is now a first-year at
SBC, part of the class of ’15. Elizabeth
loves SBC! Cheryl, husband John, son
Adam are busy at the ranch. They’re
performance testing breeding bulls and
preparing for their annual spring sale in
April.
Marilyn “Mare” Moran sent news that
in Aug., Hurricane Irene sent 2 trees
down crushing part of her house in
Larchmont, N.Y., and they have just finished reconstruction in Jan. On a
brighter note, Mare and her son are pursuing their love of photography and both
have works in 2 separate local exhibits.
Meg Shields Duke’s husband Jamie had
a fun fall dinner in Richmond, Va., with
Mary Beth Hamlin Finke ’76 and beau

Jimmy Shannon before the wedding festivities began for the daughter of Gray
Thomas Payne ’75. At that wedding,
Meg caught up with Ann Wesley Ramsey
’75 and Beth Montgomery ’75. Gray and
Tom were guests of the Dukes in Vail,
Colo., over Martin Luther King weekend.
Meg is the Sweet Briar representative to
Denver’s “College for a Day” committee.
This organization of 9 colleges (the
“Seven Sisters,” plus Sweet Briar and
Mills College) rotates bringing in professors from their colleges each Jan. This
year Meg selected SBC Environmental
Economics Prof Rob Alexander, who
spoke to a sell-out crowd of 300 at the
Botanic Gardens.
From St. Louis, Mo., Ann Stryker
Busch’s oldest daughter Katie is getting
engaged to be married Sept. 2012. Middle child Allie started her own business,
AM Busch Performance Horses, which
breaks and trains horses. Ann’s son
has one more year at Colo. State U. as
a finance major.
And I, your Class Secretary, Cissy
Humphrey, am living proof you can reinvent yourself at any age! I’m 3rd generation Oil & Gas Texan and have employment in the Oil & Gas industry after
years in Legal and Telecom. I’m using
my International Law skills from Prof.
Ken Grimm’s class! When I helped out
with my father’s independent oil and
gas business in the 1970s and 80s,
everything was done manually. In 2012,
everything is computerized and I’m
learning the business from a whole new
perspective! Keep those notes coming
in!

1977
Sally Bonham Mohle
5039 Lewisetta Dr.
Glen Allen, VA 23060
SallyISTJ@aol.com
Carolyn Williams Seeling keeps in
touch with Jane Maloney ’74, Cora Snyder, Jane Mooney, Dorothy Lear Mooney
’78, Sophie Crysler Hart ’81. She says,
“I just returned from summer in Punta
Cana with daughter, Vt. with my twin, a
trip celebrating 30th wedding anniversary to Korea, Bali, Lombok. Planning
for cruise to Alaska next summer. Active
member at Himalayan Institute in
Honesdale, Pa. Special education instructor at an elementary school. Still
living in Audubon, Pa. Son Justin (24)
just bought a townhouse in Philadelphia.
Daughter Sarah is a sophomore at
Franklin and Marshall.”
Ellen Sellers McDowell: “I got to go to
Birmingham to visit my youngest daughter Kate who goes to Samford U. and
had dinner with Lochrane Coleman
Smith ’76 and her husband Mel. I’m
helping Jill Steenhuis ’80 put on a painting workshop in Montgomery in April.
Hope to see all 1977 alumnae at Sweet
Briar in May. We’re planning a fun class
meeting with a TEX MEX appetizer cookoff. Don’t miss it!”
Libby White Drbal (Princeton, N.J.): “Our
oldest, Drew, graduates from Elon U.
the same weekend as Reunion. My son
Tyler is a freshman at Dickinson College
in Carlisle, Pa., along with Andrew Nissman! Molly Reeb Nissman and I ran into
each other in the dining hall the first day

of school! We ended up rooming together later at Parents’ Weekend. Hope
everyone comes to our 35th Reunion.
Some of us have a Riders’ Reunion in
April too!
Linda Uihlein: I have started a 2nd business, Owl’s Nest Games LLC, which creates an all-USA preparedness outdoor
series of board games. I still run Em
Paks LLC, an emergency preparedness
company, which I started in 2004. I
took an animal rescue course from Nan
Stuart’s rescue school. I drive out to
Salt Lake City every summer for the Outdoor Retail Summer Market held the
first 5 days in Aug. I also fly out in Jan.
for their Winter Market. Last summer on
the way back I audited 7 days of Buck
Brannaman’s, “The Horse Whisperer.”
I’m going to spend 8 more days with
him in Ariz. in March. Busy planning a
central Va. emergency preparedness
demo and trade show with about 25
vendors in late April. I’m looking forward
to seeing everyone at the 2012 Reunion.
Vivian Yamaguchi Cohn and husband,
Stuart, celebrated their 29th wedding
anniversary. Their oldest son (25) is
trading options in Los Angeles. Her second son graduated from Vanderbilt U. in
May and is studying in Japan for a year.
Her twins (17) are graduating from high
school and headed to Colo. College and
U. of Denver in fall 2012. In June 2011,
Vivian has been General Counsel at
Chicago Underwriting Group, Inc. for 22
years. She also continues to serve on
the SBC Visiting Committee for the Riding Program and returns to campus regularly. She’s looking forward to seeing
everyone at our 35th Reunion.
Tricia Waters loves her job as exhibitions registrar at The Phillips Collection
in Washington, D.C. Tricia and John continue to live in Alexandria, Va. Lucy (21)
is a junior at Radford hoping for an internship in N.Y.C. this summer; Will (19)
juggles community college, work, and
booking house shows for touring bands.
Stephanie Maxson Kenyon: Our oldest,
Jay, started at Lynchburg College this
year. Our youngest is applying to Va.
schools.
Debbie Koss McCarthy: Courtney is expecting a little brother for Anna Grace
(2).
Elvira Cash Pecora (Chapel Hill): Oldest
son Greg (26) is working for Duke U. in
their anesthesiology dept. Second son
Kent (23) graduated in June from Dickinson College and went on the following
week to win 1st place in the 3rd division
steeplechase for the U.S. Husband Chip
is with SunTrust bank as a financial advisor. I’m at Talbots as a “fashionista
advisor.” Hoping to make the Reunion.
Just spoke to my old roommate Christine Davis Boulware, who has just
joined the advisory board. She even
found a few lost SBC classmates, like
Cain Thomas Linzee.
Barb Bernick Peyronnet: Doug and I are
proud of our Maggie (22). She graduated a semester early from William &
Mary and began a master’s in education
at VCU in Jan. Annie (17) participates in
the 3 high school plays a year. Doug is
still rockin’ with his ’60s and ’70s rock
and roll band. I love golf and skiing. Our
Nine-hole group (I’m the treasurer)
hosted the Massey Cancer Center Tournament this year and we sent $45,000

to them for research! From time to time
I see Dee Hubble Dolan and Cindy
Kendree Theiringer.
Carolyn Williams Seeling: Sarah (19) is
a sophomore at Franklin & Marshall,
studying psychology and working in
F&M’s primate lab; son Justin (25) is living and working full time in the Fishtown
area of Philadelphia and is enrolled in a
master’s program at Boston U. for Intl.
Business Marketing. Carolyn and family
enjoyed trips to Korea, Bali, Lombok
and India.

1979
Mary “Robbie”
McBride Bingham
2044 Murdstone Rd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15241
Bingham123521@yahoo.com
Karen Jaffa: Aug. ’11, I published my
first novel, “The Dressage Chronicles.”
I’m still riding and just purchased Gia
(5), a Holsteiner cross mare. Lawrence
is still practicing law with Fisher &
Phillips. I see Prudance Saunders Pitcock regularly and keep in touch with
Cathy Calello Staples, who just published a book of poetry.
Margaret Hixon Griffith: Have my new
art website managed by FASO, just
browse Margaret Griffith Fine Art. I’m
now a member of Oil Painters of America.
Aimee Kass: I’m an attorney in N.J. for
the public defender’s office defending
parents whose children have been taken
by child services, but don’t have the
means to petition the court to get them
returned.
Piper Allen Severns: Still in Orlando,
Fla., teaching 1st grade at a charter
school. Annabel (11) is busy with ballet,
piano and school. Husband Keith is a
general contractor and is now working
as city manager. Last summer we traveled through Mich., Wis. and Minn. and
had the time of our lives.
Lauren Huyett: Still in Concord, Mass.,
only 1 ½ hours from our Cape Cod
house. Kids as follows: Kate (28) NYC,
Phil (26) Tufts, Peter (23) Stark Corp at
Boston Design Center, Chip (21) Gettysburg College, Susan (17) applying to colleges. Bill is still with McKinsey and Co.
and traveling everywhere. I’m still a residential interior decorator and was part
of a holiday house tour.
Ashley Wilson Brook: Looking forward
to our next reunion. Mary Grayson (19)
loves UNC-Chapel Hill. Sterrett (15) is
busy being a Life scout and playing the
violin.
Corby Hancock Pine: 13th year of
teaching biology at Towson U., love it. I
also teach preschool science at a nursery school where Hannah Craighill
Morehead teaches. My son is a high
school senior and daughter is 9th
grader.
Becky Trulove Symons: We’re empty
nesters in Winston-Salem, less than 5
miles from my parents and sisters. Sally

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine
graduated from Chapel Hill is in N.Y.C.
Elizabeth will graduate in May from UNC
and is student teaching 3rd grade in
Carrboro, N.C. Anne is a freshman at
UNC. Had dinner with Jenney Kelsey
Breining in N.Y.C. and ran into Ashley
Wilson Brook I see Sally Colhoun Engram around town.
Nancy White: One fabulous year since I
opened the flower bar in Larchmont,
N.Y. Great staff and have learned a lot.
My husband is my partner on this. He’s
a retired CEO/actuary of a multi-national
corp so he brings the corporate and I
bring the creativity.
Susan Anthony Lineberry: I gained a
daughter-in-law in Sept. when Mark married Lindsay in Colo. That makes 4
sons, 2 daughters-in-law and 3 grandchildren. Neal and I enjoy being grandparents to Adam, Claire and Drew. In
Dec., I went on the White House Christmas Tour with Cindi Little Townsend
and Pat Guild.
Nancy Hatch Schwartzmiller: Our son is
a freshman at UGA and our daughter is
a high school junior who plays lacrosse.
Between working for 2 financial literacy
nonprofits, keeping up sports schedules, touring colleges and caring for
aged parents, Frank and I have full
plates.
Jennny Kelsey Breining: Working the
night shift as an RN on the
maternal/neonatal unit at Hackensack
U. Medical center in northern N.J. My
oldest daughter is in N.Y.C. and was an
account exec. with a PR firm. My son is
pursuing a career in screenwriting and
my youngest is a sophomore at
Roanoke College, so I get to Va. about
twice a year.
Mary Bingham: My father (85) died in
June 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pa. My family
decided to move back to Pittsburgh. I
was teaching in Albuquerque, N.M.; now
I’m working on getting my teaching license in Pa. My sons are 13 and 16
years old.

1981
Claire McDonnell Purnell
Four Thompson St.
Annapolis, MD 21401-3833
cpgd@verizon.net
Sad news. Lelee Frank Hazard’s son,
John “Jack” Hazard (23), passed away
last Dec. while traveling through Asia
and writing. Lelee’s daughter Martha
(19) is living in Alexandria and working
at Let’s Dish. Son Mitchell (17) attends
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School in Tenn.
He played on the football team last fall

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

50

Jane “Ellie” Craddock ’11 is
at the University of Virgina
working on a master’s degree
in the areas of mechanical and
aerospace engineering. In her
spare time she also works as a
producer at 1070 WINA, part
of the Charlottesville Radio
Group. “Sweet Briar prepared
me very well for the classes
that I am taking at UVa,” she
says. “I am at the same level or
above most of my classmates
from all over the world in each
of the classes that I have
taken.”

51

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Sweet Briar Names Distinguished Alumna of 2011

TERESA PIKE TOMLINSON GRADUATED FROM SWEET
Briar in 1987, the same year the College established its Distinguished
Alumna Award. Twenty-five years later, Sweet Briar announced that
Teresa is the Distinguished Alumna of 2011.
Given out by the board of the Alumnae Association, the award
honors alumnae, preferably graduates, who have brought distinction to
themselves and to the College through outstanding accomplishments
in a volunteer or professional capacity. Any member of the Sweet Briar
family — including students, alumnae, faculty, administration, staff,
and members of the Alumnae Board and the College Board of
Directors — is asked to nominate candidates.
Teresa was elected the first female mayor of Columbus, Ga., in
November 2010. At Sweet Briar, she majored in government, with a
minor in economics. After receiving her law degree from Emory
University School of Law in 1991, she began working as an attorney
for Pope, McGlamry, Kilpatrick, Morrison & Norwood in Columbus.
The firm’s only female partner, Teresa practiced law there for 16 years
and is now of counsel with the firm. In 2006, she became the first
executive director of MidTown Inc., a community renewal
organization seeking to revitalize the nine square miles in the center of
Columbus.
Over the years, Teresa has been recognized repeatedly for her
community involvement. The Columbus City Council honored her
three times for her work on government-appointed boards and task
force committees, and the Georgia House of Representatives
recognized her as an Outstanding Volunteer. In addition, Teresa
received a Certificate of Special U.S. Congressional Recognition for
“outstanding achievement, service and public distinction.” She was also
named a Columbus Woman on the Rise and Exceptional Role Model
in Business, and a Concharty Council of Girl Scouts Woman of
Achievement.
A member of the Boxwood Circle Committee for nine years,
Teresa has been involved in many alumnae activities and has donated
to the College throughout the years. Twice, she helped to raise funds
for her alma mater as a member of her class’ Reunion Gifts
Committee.
Teresa received the Distinguished Alumna Award this spring in
her hometown. ■

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

52

and is playing goalie on the school soccer team. If you’d like to get in touch
with Lelee, her email address is leleehazard@comcast.net.
Mary Stuart Bolling is living in Richmond, Va. Daughter Lucy Gordon (18) is
a senior at Collegiate School where
Mary sometimes sees Susan Clay Russell and Kathy Levi Hoover at parent
events. Sweet Briar has offered Lucy
Gordon a scholarship endowed by her
grandmother’s classmate from the class
of ’49. Son Stuart is a junior at the U.
of Mary Washington with a triple major
in history/philosophy/classics. Mary
writes: “Sarah Martin Herguner, Nancy
Smith Jackson ’82, and I attended a
Sweet Briar luncheon in Richmond at
the Jefferson Hotel.”
Sharon Resener Miller is living in Orlando, Fla., with husband Tony. Son Bailey (18) is a freshman at NYU. Sharon
gets to see Sharon McGrath Gardner
every couple of months while in N.Y.
Kearsley Rand Walsh is in Arlington,
Va., is now an empty nester. Angus (21)
is at Marshall and Duncan (19) is at Miami of Ohio. I’m working as office manager at Habitat for Humanity of Northern
Va.”
Kathy Levi Hooper was sorry to have
missed Reunion. That was daughter
Kate’s (22) graduation weekend from
UVa. She’ll have another graduation this
May, as she finishes her master’s degree. She looks forward to seeing my
SBC friends in the D.C. area more, as
Kate will begin working there in Oct.
Daughter Anna’s (16) travel volleyball
team will have a tournament at Sweet
Briar. She loves hearing from/seeing
her SBC friends!
Susan Campbell is living in Philadelphia
and continues to work at PNC. Daughter
Sarah (25) has lived in Manhattan for
5.5 years working as a freelance writer.
Susan is looking forward to a trip to
Gasparilla Island in March and trip to
Seville, Spain, to ride in July.
Susan Pinkard Morgan and husband
Bill live in Lighthouse Point, Fla. Susan
teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math at
Deerfield Beach Middle School. Susan
stays busy with daughter Casey (15),
who can’t wait to drive in July! Susan
writes, “I just finished my master’s in
the science of teaching from Fla. Atlantic U., and am working hard in karate
class.”
Carol Hays Hunley and family moved to
Boston in the beginning of 2012. Carol
has taken a new job with Sovereign
Bank, after 26 years with PNC Bank in
Pittsburgh. Carol writes “Last year was
a tough one after losing my dad, going
through breast cancer treatment with
my mom, so we’re making a fresh start.
Our middle daughter is a junior at Ohio
U. and is looking at Boston schools for
graduate schools. Sovereign is owned
by Santander out of Spain, so I will be
traveling quite a bit to Madrid. Our oldest daughter is living in Cleveland and
working for the Cleveland Indians.”
Hope Keating: “I am engaged to marry
G.W. Harrell, an attorney here in Tallahassee. We’re planning a spring 2013
wedding. Also, in the throes of a mid-life
crisis, I and 3 of my law partners
formed a rock band called ILL ADVISED.
We play primarily in dive bars around
town.”

53

Vickie Archer, husband Tad Imbrie, and
family are living in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Daughter Annie (20) is a “sophomore
econ major at SBC. Son James (18) is
getting ready to graduate from Bethel
Park High School. Daughter Addison
(16) is in the 10th at Bethel Park High
School.”
Mary Kate Ferguson is in Baltimore and
has a small bookkeeping service called
Beeswax Bookkeeping. Brendy Reiter
Hantzes is one of her current bookkeeping clients, so not a lot of work getting
done on that day! Mary Kate sees
Claire Purnell, Eve Devine, and Kearsley Walsh as well.
Brendy Reiter Hantzes writes from
Chantilly, Va.: “I’m running an appraisal
company. My husband Nick has given up
golf because he became addicted. My
son Harrison had a house fire; he was
very appreciative of underwear as a
Xmas gift. My son Will is working as a
paralegal while trying to decide if he
should apply to law school. My daughter
Molly lives at St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children and is doing well. Despite her profound disabilities she is
very healthy and for that we are grateful.”
The Reunion last May was lots of fun.
Brendy and Mary Kate, our class copresidents, put a wonderful weekend together. We stayed in Dew Residence
Hall. Our hospitality room was decorated with pink and green. On Friday
night, we played a Class of 1981 trivia
game. After that, very late, we painted
the hitching post pink and green. The
whole weekend was fun because of the
efforts of Brendy and Mary Kate who
have been re-elected as our class presidents.
As for me, we are still in Annapolis, Md.
Mary (18) is a senior waiting to hear
from colleges. Lizzie (15) is a freshman
in high school, and she is beginning to
think about a summer job. Thanks to
everyone who sent their news.

1982
Consuelo Michelle Martínez
7007 N. Tripp Ave.
Lincolnwood, IL 60712
consuelomichele@yahoo.com
Gracie Tredwell Schild wrote from
Santa Fe, N.M.: “after a rough year of
custody, money battles and moving”
she’s settled in with 2 cats and son
Christoph (13). Gracie works at The Institute of American Indian Arts. She
hopes to attend Reunion.
Monica Kaiser wrote: “2011 started
out with a bang.” Daughter Alexa is a
senior at UM’s Frost School of Music.
She’ll graduate in May with a double
major in musical theatre & English literature, a minor in music business. Monica will attend the graduation and have
to miss Reunion. Son Julius, a high
school junior, wants to pursue a career
in the medical field. He’s active in the
drama club and will be an International
Thespian. Husband Richard still works
at Pepsi while Monica is busy with the
drama club and school activities where
she chaperoned the thespians to the
Fla. State Thespian Festival last March
and remains an active member of the
PTSO.

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Jean Bryan, the dancing machine, wrote
“not much is going on in Norfolk, Va.,”
which is hard to believe, and looks forward to our Reunion in May.
Fun was had by all at Molly Finney
Grenn’s “get psyched” for Reunion
party. All who attended committed to
coming to our class Reunion. Together
with co-chair agents, Nancy Daugherty
Davidson, Brianna Boswell Brown,
Molly is spearheading our class gift participation for our Reunion and appreciates all contributions.
Cathy Miller will not attend Reunion as
she and her husband are going on a
riverboat cruise from St. Petersburg to
Moscow, Russia. Daughter Madeline returned from her winter term in England
studying business and economics. She
is studying at Randolph-Macon. Second
daughter Ali, a senior in high school,
plans to attend Ferrum in the fall to
study criminal justice. Husband David
and Cathy continue to enjoy their work.
Lele Frenzel Casalini also enjoyed the
pre-reunion festivities last Nov. with
Jean Bryan, Briana Boswell, Marie Engel, Nancy Davidson and Molly Finney!
She did the D.C. cancer walk with Molly
and her daughters Grace, Jean, and Brianna. Lele enjoyed a visit from Molly
Johnson last fall where they had great
fun being tourists in Indianapolis. Lele
spent Jan. in Hawaii visiting a high
school friend. Unfortunately she broke
her foot and tore ligaments in her ankle,
but no worries, Lele will be out of the
boot and in fine shape for Reunion! Her
career teaching yoga, Pilates and spinning is flourishing. Son Eli is in graduate
school studying physiology at Indiana
U., daughter Liza married last June, is
raising beef cattle and sister Sophie left
Sweet Briar after freshman year to pursue a nursing career at Indiana U. Lele
looks forward to becoming a grandmother in early March.
Kit Johnson Parks is enjoying her free
time exploring the Raleigh area and
other activities now that her home is
complete. She hikes and plans to hike a
section of the Appalachian Trail this
June.
Lee Watson Lombardy’s daughter Georgia has her learner’s driving permit and
continues to excel in Irish dance competitions. The family looks forward to a trip
to the North American National Irish
Dance Championships in Chicago this
summer. Husband Warren continues his
career at Darden restaurants, while
Lucy is at the Orlando City Attorney’s Office. She enjoyed a mini-reunion in Jan.
with Lucile Redmond Flournoy and her
sister, Frances Malone.
As part of the co-chair fundraising trio,
Nancy-Dirt Daugherty Davidson prefers
the term fun agent. They had loads of
fun at Molly Finney Grenn’s house in
Nov., everyone picking up where they
left off years ago! Nancy says about
SBC, “Whether you graduated with a degree or not, you are part of a body of
women who are bonded together for the
rest of our lives…We’re not just a group
of people who graduated from a school
with the same major—we’re a diverse
group of women who have forged different paths into the 21st century and are
succeeding!” She shared a recent email
conversation with Amoret Thisell and
Molly Finney Grenn as they discussed

their battles with breast cancer. She
also came up with an excellent idea to
discuss, in a forum-style, events impacting our lives, families, careers, futures
at Reunion and to continue the dialogue
after our Reunion. Finally, Nancy reiterated that our class gift and participation
not only helps sustain SBC for future
young women, it also demonstrates the
long-term life power of maintaining relationships with others (Class of 1982!)
through an institution that supports and
encourages women.
Jennifer Rae is thrilled to be back in
touch. She’s grateful to have regular
work. Jennifer registered with several
employment agencies, the one that
came through with full time work was
the one she had the best working partnership. The agency markets itself nationally as All U Need Personnel with a
personal, professional approach to business—Jennifer’s cup of tea. Jennifer
looks forward to hearing from our
“amazing” Class of 1982.
Heidi Slavin Willard teaches history to
9th graders who need support staying
sober. She also is a business owner:
Scrapbooks That Teach. The business
keeps her busy designing unique classroom activities in motivating students
and helping them to remember their lessons for assessments. She and Russell
have traveled to over 120 countries.
Heidi is a breast cancer survivor from
2000. She looks forward to seeing
everyone at Reunion and found the
party last Nov. for local Va. residents a
wonderful night to remember. Heidi expects the same liveliness and red wine
at Reunion!
Jill Fallon writes that all is well in western Mass. JFallon & Company (jfallonandco.com), her strategic marketing
communications and events company,
continues to grow. She’s extending her
expertise into planning social events
with JFallon Celebrations. Son Jack (17)
is honing his artistic skills in drawing
and sculpture, while younger brother
Harrison’s (13) fascinated with sports.

playing football and basketball. Tom and
I turn 50 this year (as do all of the rest
of you!) and celebrate our 25th anniversary.
Betsy Becton Hannah was vacationing
in Australia. She’s still a financial analyst and volunteers with the Junior
League of Honolulu and the Coalition for
a Tobacco Free Hawaii. She writes,
“think we’ll be back on the mainland in
Oct. 2012.”
Ginger Reynolds Davis: All is well in
Spartanburg. Jeffery will graduate in
May. Carter is a rising Jr. at Presbyterian College. I turned 50 last Sept. and
a group of my friends, fondly known as
the YaYas, this included Debbie Jones,
took me to Gettysburg. Can’t wait to
see everyone in 2014.
Peg Twohy Devan: I work for the Aspen
Ski Company in winter at Powder Pandas and love it! Bob and I have been
back and forth with our daughter showing in Calif. this winter. Carolyn ended
up reserve circuit champion in the large
juniors. Headed to Va. to show Crown
Royal with Chris Wynne this summer.
Vida Henry Fonseca: Oops! I was at
Mardi Gras and missed the deadline!
Louise Jones Geddes: Oldest son Charlie loves Wofford and is trying to have it
all: varsity soccer, fraternities, and
some academics too. Second son Giles
heads to W&L in Aug. 2012, and he
hopes to continue playing soccer.
Daughter Lucia heads to high school in
Aug. 2012 and dances and plays some
sports. We enjoyed a visit with Jim’s
family in Australia over Christmas 2011,
and of course we always enjoy visiting
with SBC friends!
Elizabeth Hicks: Husband Frank and I
keep busy at our restaurant in Winnetka, celebrating 15 years in this location. We’ve been featured on NBC’s The
Today Show and in national and local
magazines. This spring we’re hosting
luncheons in conjunction with the
Botanic Garden of Chicago. I enjoy keeping in touch with Lisa Etz Picken ’86.
Juliet Jacobsen Kastorff: Will be getting
back from Ecuador just in time to welcome a group of SWEBOP ladies coming
to N.C. for spring break in our renovated
home.
Marguerite Kramer Kircher: This year I
celebrated 25 years of marriage to
Steve, and 25 years with my Wall Street
firm of Wellington Shields & Co., where I
was named an equity partner. My daughter Sable (14) started Catholic high
school and my son Cullen (12) is in 7th
grade at our parish elementary school.
Anne Richards: I still live at Sweet Briar
in my house on Elijah Road. The boys
are grown men. The one you might have
known, Arie, is a Leut. Col. in the army;
has 2 children and a wonderful wife. I’m
very involved in quarter scale miniatures.
Beth Bossong Russell: My oldest son
took a semester off from college and
hiked the Appalachian Trail (Feb.-June
2011) and then returned to college this
past fall. My second son graduated from
Greensboro Day School and went to Tanzania for a semester through NOLS.
He’ll go to Elon next fall. My daughter is
in 10th grade at Episcopal High School
and loves it.
Laurel Scott: I moved to Richmond,
Va.’s museum district with my fiance

James Thompson and our 2 dogs. I’m
still senior editor with Active Interest
Media’s Equine Division, working from
home. In my spare time, I’m a living historian/reenactor in the 17th, 18th and
19th centuries, which makes me busy
when it comes to Civil War Sesquicentennial events and events at Henricus
Historical Park (which just celebrated its
400th). I visit my mare Margaret (29),
who is happily retired in Aldie, Va., every
chance I get, and still try to stay genealogically active in UDC, DAR,
Jamestowne Society and Colonial
Dames XVIIth Century. I enjoy keeping in
touch with fellow SBCers Amy Longley,
Erika Dorr Marshall and Sarah Babcock
through the miracles of Facebook.
Ann Alleva Taylor: I’ve been meeting
new alumnae in Vero Beach. In addition
to new SBC friends, I’ve begun a new
career as the director of development at
the Indian River Land Trust. The girls are
adjusting to not having me around probably more easily than I would like!

1988
Maia Free Jalenak
605 Camelia Ave.
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
maia_jay@cox.net
Kelly Meredith Iacobelli is a director of
Industry Communications at Coca-Cola,
and she looks forward to several trips
to Las Vegas this year. She bumped into
Stacy Meadows Apter in an elevator at
Coke, and they recognized each other
instantly. Stacy works in the Office of
the Treasurer as the director of Global
Benefits & Finance. In Oct., Kelly was
wearing an SBC sweatshirt at a corn
maze. A friend of Wendy Hastings
started a conversation with Kelly, and
later Kelly and Wendy were able to connect. Wendy coordinates EMS for 3
Georgia counties, is the Sullivan County
Coroner, and teaches local EMS through
the Dept. of Health at a local community
college. She was a field paramedic for
17 years, but when she got married 5
years ago, her husband was much happier for her to have a job where she didn’t have to wear a bulletproof vest!

Susan Detweiler has a love in her life—
Ned, who shares her passion for the
outdoor/travel lifestyle that seasonal
contract field work provides. Recently,
they went back east to meet his family.
On the trip, Susan enjoyed getting together with Wendy Hastings over lunch.
Susan plans to guide climbers in the
Tetons again this summer. She and Ned
will return to Antartica in the fall.
Kathryn Deriso-Schwartz writes from
Miami that her family is doing well.
Kacki is a senior at FSU and is heading
to medical school. The twins, Burgen
and Webb are juniors in high school.
Chandler is busy with photography.
Brenda Payne has been retired from
work for a year and finds herself missing it. Her daughter, Kristy, had a beautiful wedding at SBC on 2/11/12. Brenda
enjoys her grandchildren in Calif.; grandson Austin just turned 5 and granddaughter Zoe is almost 3.
Lisa Thompson Barnes had a beautiful
wedding in Vero Beach, Fla., over
Thanksgiving weekend. Lisa was thrilled
to have Stacy Meadows Apter in town
for the wedding celebration. Lisa and
Trevon went on a transatlantic cruise
from Spain back to the U.S. She reports
that they’re settling into married life in
Vero Beach. Her law practice keeps her
busy. She enjoyed attending the annual
Sweet Briar alumnae reception in Vero
Beach.
Stacey Sickels Locke married Lyn
Locke in July 2011 at St. Margaret’s
Church in Annapolis followed by a reception at Old South Country Club. Her sister, Susan Sickels Dyer ’91 (who lives
near Seattle and whom Stacey still calls
by her Q.V. nickname, “Buttons and
Bows”), was her maid of honor. Leland
is in 7th grade, an avid soccer player.
Kent attends a high school in N.H. She
loves her job as VP for Development for
Global Fund for Children. Lyn works with
Intercontinental Hotels. They’re living in
Annapolis in the house she grew up in.
Kate Cole Hite writes that she loved
getting together for a girls’ weekend in
D.C. in Feb. with Katie Keogh Weidner,
Kathryn Ingham Reese, Mary Halliday
Shaw and Whitney Bolt Lewis.
Mary Halliday Shaw says things are
great in Atlanta. Twins Jack and Mike
are 20 and just finished their sophomore year of college. Kevin (16) is a
sophomore in high school. Mary continues to teach at Holy Spirit Preparatory
School, and husband Brad is still in Corporate Communications at The Home
Depot.
Lee Ann Conard who is a pediatrician
writes that she just moved to Cincinnati
to work in the Division of Adolescent
Medicine at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.
I’m looking forward to our 25th Reunion
just a year away. Please make plans to
attend!

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine

1990
Kelly Wood Erickson
104 S Winterberry Ct.
Smithfield, VA 23430
skjs2@charter.net
Jacy Carter Allen: Husband Ben is a
builder in Aspen and continues to have
work. Children Noah (8) and Amelia (6)
keep us busy and happy. Keep in touch
with Carol Witherington Lumpkin,
Brandi Beck, Elizabeth Mason Horsely,
and a few others. Would love to hear
from anyone.
Stachelle Gilmore Hanling: My daughter
Haylee is starting her junior year in high
school. My son is four. Love catching up
with classmates on Facebook.

1995
Beverley Stone Dale
2006 Ashcrest Ct.
Richmond, VA 23238
bsdale@comcast.net
Meredith Williams: My daughter Caroline and I joined Maren Howard Leggett
and Eileen Yates Von Herbulis and kids
in Oct. for a trip to the National Zoo,
and then we all had a fun dinner catching up with Lynn Ivey Turner and family
that evening.

Mrs. Kelly Collins Lear
24 Prescott Dr.
Hudson, OH 44236
kellycollins13@yahoo.com
Amelia Dudman Atwill: Daughter Pierce
is in 2nd grade and thriving after having
major skull surgery. She has taught all
of us what it means to be brave and
graceful. Also, Pierce is going to be a
big sister. Her little brother is scheduled
to arrive in May 2012. Thank you to my
precious ’96ers for all the love, prayers
and support during our several months
at UVa.
Bridget Bayliss Curren: Bridget and
Rich welcomed their little girl, Aoife
Rose on 5/10/11. She’s doted on by
her grandparents, and has visited Jesse
Durham Strauss on several occasions.
Angie Conklin Abell: I’m owner and principal broker at Beach Bay Realty and
coaching my kids’ teams: soccer, basketball, and softball. I enjoyed having
Tracy Walters and Lisa Aumiller visit
me during last summer for the Chincoteague Island Pony Swim where my
daughter bought a pony with her own
money from selling lemonade. I’m heading to Dominican Republic with Heather
Terry Adams ’97 this May 2012 for a
BFF getaway! Miss you all!
Sarah Chaffee Paris: I had a great time
reconnecting with Elizabeth Groves Aycock when we visited Baltimore. I was
so happy to spend time with Jesse
Durham Strauss when she came to
Boston in Dec. Bella (9), Stevie (4), and
Charlie (1) are doing great.
Julie Baer Diter: Moved back to France
the summer of 2010 with my husband
Grégory and children Alexandra (13),
Justin (12), and Guillaume (2). We love
living on the Côte d’Azur; it’s beautiful
here and the kids are finally bilingual.
Lee Foley Dolan: We kicked off the New
Year in Atlanta cheering on UVa in the
Chick-Fil-A Bowl. Henry (10) and Mattie
(7) (3-year-old Fred stayed back in Richmond) enjoyed their first plane ride.
Later in Jan. we went skiing at the
Homestead. In April, we’ll be in Virginia
Beach for spring break where we hope
to hang out with Laura Lechler.
Sarah Reidy Ferguson: Jim and I are in
the Druid Hills neighborhood of Atlanta,
with our 4 rescue dogs and 2 rescue
cats. I’m in my 3rd year of writing my
daily lifestyle blog, Duchess Fare. I continue to sell my Vintage & Mid Century
home furnishings through my Etsy store.
I’m looking forward to mini reunions this
spring and summer with girls from the
Classes of ’96 and ’97.
Robin Bettger Fishburne: I work at
Keller Williams Realty in Greenville,
S.C., in my 7th year as a Realtor, love it.
We have a baby due on 7/9/12. This little one is due one year and one day after I lost my brother, Chris Bettger (40).
Gibbs (7) has been asking for a baby
brother or sister for years. Joe and I just
celebrated our 11th anniversary in Oct
2011.
Melissa Snyder Giggenbach: We’re

55

looking forward to baseball season.
Thomas (6) will be coached by his dad,
Bader. Nikolaus (9) is moving up to the
next level, kid-pitch. I’m busy with a
part-time law practice and chairing the
board of directors of our local homeless
shelter, Bartlett House.
Rachel Cooper Gray: I’ve decided to go
back to school. I’m applying to physician
assistant schools right now, taking prerequisites and gaining patient care experience to strengthen my application. I
was also really sad to see Juli Wilkison
move back to Jacksonville, Fla., at the
end of Jan. after living up the road from
me for two years.
Victoria Gajda Hartwell: Things are
busy in the Hartwell household!
Leighton turns 5 in May, with a weeklong celebration at WDW in the works.
And then starts kindergarten in Aug.!
Leilani turns 2 in July, not sure yet what
our plans will be due to the arrival of
Tiki, baby #3, on 6/29. We still keep in
close touch with Auntie Linda (Linda
Towers) and meet up with her at Disney!
Working in CVICU and raising our family
keep me busy.
Nicole Johnson Kaler: An international
exchange student from China has become part of my family for the past 3
years. She’s now a freshman at Sweet
Briar. I love being a Realtor in Okla., enjoy married life, and love my retired
horse, Yukon (I showed while at SBC),
who is still with me today!
Beth Ike: Charlottesville continues to
treat us well. We send lots of love to all
the Vixens, everywhere!
Catherine Lanter: I’m teaching French
to 3rd-7th grades at Viewpoint School in
Calabasas, Calif. This March I’m taking
14 high school students to France. Reminds me of the fantastic trips I took
during my Junior Year Abroad in France
with Sweet Briar, 1994-1995.
Jenn Beck Locke: Our life is wonderfully
chaotic with our 3 wild Indians. Hunter
is General Manager at RockTenn Corporation and received Plant of the Year
honors for the 2nd year in a row. Marte
(9) is in 3rd grade and enjoying soccer,
piano and art. She was diagnosed with
Asperger Syndrome, and we’re exploring
the world of social classes and new experiences. Thomas (6) is in a regular K,
but works with an autism aid daily.
We’re active with his autism support
group. Trae (4) has an amazing personality and enjoys working on any projects
involving tools. I’m active on the PTA
board, and volunteer at the school library, health clinic, room mother (for all
3 of them) and am in charge of Spring
Festivities at their school. We joined a
new Church and have become involved
in a wonderful ministry there. Looking
forward to a mini-reunion in April with
’96 alumnae.
Julie Hildebrand Nelson: Brett, Big
Brother Grant and I welcomed twins
Brooke McKinley and Luke Kohut to the
family on 9/14/11. We enjoy attending
the Hunt Country Alumnae events and
see Becky Moats Miller ’97 and Imogen
Slade Rex as often as possible.
Cindy Rakow Readyhough: Patrick, Sam
(4), Katelynn (2) and I are all loving being back in Va. near family and friends!
Patrick is running an exterior remodeling
company, and I’m the marketing director
for a local bank in Reston, Va. I’m still
riding—helping Tracy Walters keep her

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

horse exercised. Eileen MacMurtrie,
Meg Magistro Arcadia and I keep in
touch. I got to see Ardas Khalsa (Alex
Hiribarne) at reunion and Leah Jorgensen over the holidays.
Imogen Slade Rex: Imogen and husband Chip (VMI ’95) are enjoying year
two outside of Portland, Ore. Chip loves
his job with Bonneville Power, and I’m
home with Isabelle (4) and Connor (2).
I’m also tutoring, editing, and selling
Mary Kay. I love catching up whenever
possible with fellow Portland resident,
Leah Jorgensen.
Jesse Durham Strauss: Celebrating 10
years as a meeting and conference
planner at Strategic Analysis, Inc. in Arlington, Va. I love catching up with classmates. I enjoyed seeing Rachel Baltus
Price (and daughter Winona) when Janeen Sharma came to town for a quick
visit in Jan. Work also took me to
Boston in Dec. so I had lunch with
Sarah Chaffee Paris and her handsome
boys too.
Kelly Walker: Eric and I are expecting
our first child, a girl, in May.
Kimberly Shaheen White: I was featured in the paper and on our local news
for my paperless classroom, the only
one I’m aware of in the Memphis area.

Cynthia Bumgardner Puckett
7123 High St.
Floyds Knobs, IN 47119-9538
cpuckett@sbc.edu
Hola! Hola! It’s hard to believe that
we’re getting closer and closer to our
15th Reunion. Please mark your calendars for May 2013!
Stephanie Belk Loter and family moved
to Hillsborough in Sept. 2010. She began working full time for Novartis Animal
Health (Greensboro, N.C.) in Jan. 2012.
They have 2 children, Abilene and Benjamin. Stephanie has returned to her
love of horseback riding. She saw Cady
and Brandy Whitley ’99 at a local Sweet
Briar Day.
Kristy Winstead Anderson’s daughter
Katelyn (20 mos.) was hospitalized 3
times this year with severe asthma and
respiratory complications. Fortunately,
she has recovered. Kristy is now a fulltime medical director for a large community hospice agency. Her son (8) continues to grow and her stepson (15)
performed in the Tournament of Roses
Parade on 1/2/12. Husband Todd returned safely from his TDY and continues to serve military men and women
with mental health concerns.
Anne-Claire Wackenhut Kasten and
husband Scott blessed their civil union
(held in July 2010 in France) with a religious service and reception in Atlanta
last summer. Sisters Sophie Wackenhut

Szymanski ’02 and Celeste Wackenhut
’08 were bridesmaids. Gretchen Gravley Tucker and Kate Rinehart Eskew
were also in attendance. Anne-Claire enjoys motherhood to Jacques (born
04/30/11) and still teaches 1st/2nd
grade at the Friends School of Atlanta.
She met with Gretchen again at Sweet
Briar Day in Jan., along with Kelli Scott
Uttley, Isabel Jean-Pierre, and Sara Coffey ’06.
Kate Rinehart Eskew’s daughter is now
18 mos. and they had their 2nd child
this spring! They love life on their farm
in Portland. She looks forward to seeing
everyone next year!
Tonya Grudier Montgomery and family
enjoyed a visit from “Aunt” Katie Martin
in Jan. They also surprised Katie with
the news that she’ll be an aunt again in
July. Tonya continues to work at Indian
Creek School.
Astrid Liverman and husband Taylor had
their first baby in May. More baby news:
Catherine Zahrn and Shannon Bazar
Zahrn ’99 welcomed daughter Maggie
Carrington in June 2011. Catherine continues to teach dance and music to
preschoolers in Austin, TX.
Andrea Sheetz McCarney and family
moved into a new home, and she’s
opening her own Irish dance school with
a friend. Andrea is a certified teacher
through North American Irish Dance Federation and became the national adult
champion this year. Andrea’s son is in
3rd grade and her daughter started
kindergarten. Last fall, Andrea was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, but surgery
went very well. Andrea reported that her
dad runs into Anne Smith Culver all the
time while grocery shopping. Anne says
her family still lives in Chesterfield, Va.
She teaches art at the school her children attend. Her oldest daughter, Beth,
is in the 6th grade. Her 2nd oldest
daughter Emma is in the 4th grade and
her son, Benjamin, is in the 1st grade.
Anne’s husband is hoping to finish his
seminary degree soon. Anne reported
that she keeps in touch with Melissa
Pembrooke.
Sara Wilcoxson Bond and husband Jeff
live in Madison Heights. She’s still a patrol officer with the Lynchburg Police Department and loves her job!
Amanda Diamond Ring and husband
Kevin still love Asheville, N.C. Karleigh
(9) takes ballet, which allows her to
keep in contact with her dance teacher,
Gregor Lee. Asher (5) starts kindergarten in fall and loves baseball. In
Aug., the family drove through Lynchburg where they were able to visit with
Charlotte Rognmoe Gilbar and family.
Amanda saw Scarlett Swain in Charlotte this past fall, where they shared a
birthday weekend. They also met up
with Jenny Hogan Koehn and her daughter.
Emily Virkus Calle reports almost daily
via her blog (blog.danandem.com) about
her family’s adventures of living in Vienna, Austia, learning German, visiting
new places, Christmas in a new country
and even a visit from Pam Fine Auble
and her son.
Lisa Hall Flynn welcomed her first
daughter Kayleigh Elisabeth Flynn on
Sept. 11. She and her family live in
Woody Creek, 6 miles from downtown
Aspen, Colo.
Rush Harris Mitchell and husband Jory

welcomed their first child, Katie Anne
Mitchell, on Sept. 5. They continue to
work on their small organic farm in
Mooresville, Ala. They hope to add
goats this year. Jory is the president of
the local SORBA (Southern Off Road Bicycle Assoc.) chapter and manages the
local bike shop. Rush just finished her
3rd year as the volunteer coordinator for
the Greater Huntsville Humane Society
Dog Ball. Lately she has enjoyed talking
with Heather Thomas Armbruster and
Cynthia Bumgardner Puckett about babies and to Fionna Matheson and
Kelsey Larus about their recent moves
(Kelsey to N.C. and Fionna to Va.).
Anna Meres Wade and husband Patrick
live in Knoxville, Tenn. Anna is a licensed marriage and family therapist.
Kelsey Larus left the White House last
summer to be a director for the DNC
Convention 2012 in Charlotte, N.C. She
said it’s been an exciting adventure
these last few years with the Obama
campaign, the Presidential Inaugural
Committee, the White House, and now
the DNC Convention.
Natia Nemetisheva welcomed a 2nd
daughter, Eliana, last June. In Jan., the
family moved to London. They’re settling
in and enjoying their new adventure!
Chantel Bartlett is still in job search
mode. Admittedly, it’s been harder than
she anticipated. She keeps in close contact with Candice Broughton Maillard,
Kim Izquierdo, Cynthia Bumgardner
Puckett, Natia Nemetisheva and Andrea Kubler Robinson ’00.

2000
Marilen Jordas Sarian
212 Rock Creek Ct.
Yorktown, VA 23693
artinspired@loveandmojo.com
Evangeline Easterly Taylor: Living in
Azerbaijan, the past few months husband Eric and I have traveled to many
places: Ireland, Maldives, United Arab
Emerites, and Republic of Georgia. In
Dec., met up with Amy Hess Snawder
and Susan Bobb in Nuremberg, Germany, to visit the Christmas Markets.
Amy Snawder has been leading a Family
Readiness Group at the military base in
Schweinfurt, Germany, and in Dec. welcomed back husband Jared after his deployment to Afghanastan. Susan Bobb
is a professor and teaching at a university in northern Germany.

2001
Julia Varner
Kientz Ambersley
912 N Glenwood Trl.
Southern Pines, NC 28387
jambersley@sbc.edu
It was wonderful to see so many of you
at reunion in the spring. I think we all
appreciated how much fun dorm life can
be (especially after a 10-year break)! It
seems like everyone is as busy as al-

ways, and it’s wonderful to see that so
many of us still make time for mini reunions with SBC friends!
Ameka Reeves Cruz continues to reside
in Lynchburg, Va., with husband Scott
and 2 children, Timbre (9) and Jeremiah
(4). Daughter Timbre, in 4th grade, is a
runner and swimmer. In fall 2011, she
ran her 3rd 5K at Sweet Briar through
the Girls on the Run program. Jeremiah
enters kindergarten in Aug. 2012.
Ameka teaches mathematics at Jefferson Forest High School, was awarded
Teacher of the Year at her school and
High School Teacher of the Year for her
county. Ameka, along with another
teacher, started a Unity club to combat
bullying and to embrace cultural diversity. The school was recognized in 2011
as a Mix It Up Model School by Teaching
Tolerance, and Ameka now serves on
the Teaching Tolerance Advisory Board.
Ameka and family visited SBC during Reunion weekend with Angela Aiken
Cameron and family.
Tana Malm Baber and Chip (H-SC ’00)
welcomed baby girl Tapanga Leigh on
1/23/12. Big brother Tank and family
are doing well.
Joy Powell Talmon still works at the Animal Rescue League in Des Moines,
Iowa, as the volunteer coordinator. This
July she’ll become president for the local DOVIA (Directors of Volunteers in
Agencies) after serving on the board for
the past few years. Joy is enjoying midwest living with her husband Tamir and
2 kids, Oren (4) and Liora (1).
Alden Rivers Potts, Carter and Carter
Potts, Jr., announce the birth of 2nd son
Brooks Pinckney Potts born 9/13/11.
Lys Burdette Paulhus and husband
Michael welcomed their 2nd daughter
Elizabeth Camille Renault “Camille” in
July. Lys was sad to miss the Reunion in
May, but still keeps up with many classmates.
Sarah Herndon Snydor and husband
Raph welcomed their 2nd child, Henry
Wingfield Herndon Sydnor, on 7/19/11.
Sarah Houston Kenning was busy visiting with Sarah Belanger Levinson, Dawn
Martin and Natasha Nikodem Stevens
over the Thanksgiving holiday in Va. She
has had the pleasure of visiting with
Katie Wood Rae and family in Charlottesville, and visited Emily Keating
Haag in Philadelphia. Sarah and family
are going to have a busy June/July, as
husband Tyler will finish his fellowship
and their family will move (hopefully
south). Jackson (3) will be a big brother
in July.
Kim Schmidt Miscavage and husband
Brian welcomed their 2nd child, Molly
Joan, on 9/6/11. Son Max (2) loves being a big brother. Kim was promoted
when she returned from maternity leave
to Global Human Resources Business
Partner for TE Connectivity. She’s excited that her first business trip is to
Prague!
Allison Clark Joe is still living in Idaho
with her husband, daughters Elise (3)
and Adele (1). Allison went back to parttime work in Jan., and the rest of the
time she’s at home.
Vanessa Corry Julsen and husband
Trace joined a multispecialty group in
Spokane, Wash., and have lived in
Wash. for 2 years. Our 3 kids, Austin
(6), Everett (3) and Catherine (18 mos.)
love the adventures of the Pacific North-

west. She still keeps in touch with
Brieanne Vogler Midura, Rachel SouderArguedas and Rebekah Burr.
Audrey Dickson Pool is living in Mandeville, La., with husband Chris and 2
daughters, Sophie (6) and Hope (2).
She LOVES being a mom, a math
teacher (at an all-girls high school) and
varsity cheer coach for the brother
school down the street.
Lori Kovatch Long was sorry to miss
Reunion. She got a new job as quality
operations microbiology manager at
Merck in Elkton, Va., and moved from
Ky. with her husband, 2 dogs, 2 cats
and 2 horses in Aug. 2011. Around that
same time, Lori found out she was expecting her first child, due in March. Lori
had a mini reunion in New Orleans in
Oct. with Alison Brown Breene, Hillary
Herlehy, Christy Holterman Zeigler and
Lauren Kaplan Slobin. On a random
note, Lori’s cousin took a scuba trip to
Belize and met up with Olive Eiley.
Katherine Wellington Morse says 2011
was a great year for her M. K. Wellington Art, LLC. She has 5 locations between Jekyll, St. Simonsa and
Brunswick, Ga., where either prints or
note cards are sold. Katherine celebrated 5 years of services as a front
desk clerk for the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. She’s now preparing for several art
festivals locally.
Mariana Souza has been practicing law
in one of the top 5 Brazilian law firms.
She married her husband, Humberto, in
2007 and in 2009 they had Beatriz.
She’s learned that Rocio Guerrero, from
Spain, is pregnant and will have a baby
boy soon.
Christine Rangel is now government affairs and special projects executive at
the National Electrical Contractors’ Association, N.Y.C. Chapter, and moved
into a new place in Tribeca, downtown
Manhattan. Come visit! She enjoyed a
great weekend with Shelly Steiman,
Sarah Farber, and Ali Buffham ’04 in
N.Y.C., and is still an active board member for The Mayor’s Alliance for N.Y.C.’s
Animals.
Sarah Belanger Levinson is moving
from D.C. to St. Louis, Mo., where her
husband will start a new job.
Leah Solivan Busque continues to grow
her company, TaskRabbit, launching new
cities across the country. Her company’s total funding is now close to $25
million. She and her husband, Kevin,
are enjoying the crazy adventure they
have embarked on which moved them
from Boston to the Bay Area over a year
ago, and she has enjoyed reconnecting
with old classmates, such as Sarah Farber, in San Francisco.
Born to Grace Turner Creasey and
Steven is Elizabeth “Ellie” Grace
Creasey. Maribeth Turner ’10 is Ellie’s
proud aunt! Sarah Belanger Levinson
sent Ellie her first piece of mail along
with her first Sweet Briar t-shirt!
Julia Kientz Ambersley and Robbie have
had a busy year. Julia left the school
where she had taught 3rd grade for
more than 6 years, and moved to the
public school system. Julia is so excited
that Sarah Farber is engaged to Jean
Pierre. Julia treasured having Dawn
Martin, Katie Martin, Emily Haag, and
Ashley Moring Voss come visit in Sept.
for Gus’s 5th birthday. Julia keeps in
regular contact with Leigh Harpel, An-

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine
gela Browning Montgomery, Jamie Solimando, Stephanie Sherrard, Emily
Keating Haag, and Ashley Moring Voss.
They were lucky enough to get to see
each other at reunion, their annual mini
reunion to the beach this summer, and
at Ashley Moring Voss’s Oct. wedding to
Jason Voss in Greensboro, N.C. They’re
excited to welcome a couple of new babies! Emily Keating Haag, and her husband, Nick, welcomed Nicholas Michael
Haag, Jr. on 2/18/12. Stephanie Sherrard and her husband Matt Hawkins will
be welcoming a new baby in just a few
short weeks!
I look forward to hearing from you for
our next alumni update! Keep me informed about your goings on at jambersley@sbc.edu.

Margaret Brooks Buck
4436 Yoruk Forest Ln
Charlotte, NC 28211
brookiebuck@gmail.com
Welcome to the year of our 10th Reunion (May 18-20)! Check out the class
of 2002’s Facebook page for updates
and remember to send in your scrapbook stuff to Lori. If you need the
forms, email me and I will send them!
Please also remember to update us
when you change your email address!
Shelly Kellogg and her husband welcomed their 1st child, Evan Christopher
on 12/22/11.
Jamie Henna lives and works in the LA
area. She’s a motion graphics artist
and also set up a shop called “Snow’s
13” on cafepress.com. She created
Joanna Mullen’s Paperhaberdasher.com
website.
Lindsey Sullivan’s son Easton Keller
(18 mos.) amazes her every day. She
continues to work as an Equity Stage
manager in Denver, Colo. In Sept. they
moved into a new house in Highlands
Ranch, Colo.
In Aug., Nicole McDaniel-Carter Stamant moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and
started a new job at Agnes Scott College as an assistant professor of English. Nicole got married on NYE 2011 to
James Stamant in Austin, Texas. They
had a tiny, but intimate ceremony at the
Zilker Botanical Gardens, and then
spent their honeymoon week in New Orleans, La. She’ll be at Reunion.
Ashley Trantham lives in Raleigh, N.C.
and works for the National Council of
State Boards of Nursing as the N.C. coordinator for a nursing research project.
Meg Anderson Richburg is still living in
Arlington, Va., and teaching at a high
school in Fairfax Co. Her son Aaron (2)
and husband are the loves of her life!
Donyele Wilkerson is still working for
the Dept. of Defense as an instructional
systems designer. She can be seen in
the National Geographic “Inside the

SBC.EDU | SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE

56

2012 Outstanding Alumnae

S

Dalton

WEET BRIAR COLLEGE HAS HONORED
Nancy Hudler Keuffel ’62 and Diane Dalton ’67
with the 2012 awards for Outstanding Alumna.
The awards were presented during Reunion in
May, when Nancy and Diane celebrated their
50th and 45th reunions.
Nancy graduated with a degree in American studies and is
the owner and president of Acorn Strategies, a prospect
management firm in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. She shares her
talent with Sweet Briar and many other organizations in her
community, including the Junior League and the local school
board. She began her service to the College immediately after
graduating as the at-large member on the Sweet Briar
Alumnae Association Board.
Nancy served on the board in several capacities in the
following years, including reunion gifts chairman and
president. From 2000 to 2008, she served on the College’s
board of directors and now has the distinction of emerita
trustee. Nancy has given her time to numerous other Sweet
Briar committees over the years, including the Reunion Gifts
Committee and the Boxwood Circle Committee, and has
helped to recruit students as an alumnae admissions
representative.
Nancy says she was amazed when she found out the
College had picked her as one of two recipients for this year.
“There are so many Sweet Briar alumnae who serve the
College with their time and talents,” she says.
At Reunion, she got the chance to reconnect with some
of them. Aside from catching up on Sweet Briar memories,
Nancy was excited to see some recent additions to the
College, especially the Green Village and “smart classrooms.”
Both were still in the planning phase when she served on the
board of directors.
And then, there’s Sweet Briar’s future. Her 5 year-old
granddaughter attended Reunion this year.
Nancy is a member of the Silver Rose Society after
giving 25 consecutive years since her graduation, and a
member of the Indiana Fletcher Williams Associates, having
named Sweet Briar in her will.
Diane, who is also a member of the Silver Rose Society

57

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

Keuffel

and the Indiana Fletcher Williams Associates, graduated from
Sweet Briar in 1967 with a degree in dramatic literature. She
later received a master’s in dramatic arts from Case Western
Reserve University. After working for the Milwaukee
Repertory Theater for more than 20 years, Diane recently
retired from her position as general manager.
Like Nancy, Diane has volunteered extensively for Sweet
Briar and other organizations in her community, including
the Junior League. In 1994, she began serving on the
Alumnae Association board in several capacities for 14 years,
including region VII chair for the Midwest,
secretary/treasurer, president and nominating chair. She also
was an alumnae-nominated member to the College’s board of
directors. Diane has continued to serve as a director since
2005. She has generously served her class as class secretary for
15 years, represented Sweet Briar at an inauguration in her
area, served on the Reunion Gifts Committee, and helped to
recruit students as an alumnae admissions representative.
Aside from supporting Sweet Briar by attending many
events on campus, the Milwaukee resident has traveled on
Sweet Briar tours abroad and supported the Alumnae College
effort on campus in 2003.
“I am overwhelmed at the honor of receiving the
Outstanding Alumna Award,” Diane says. “It has been held
by wonderful and deserving alumnae, and I am honored to
receive it with Nancy Keuffel. I just couldn't believe it —
there are so many outstanding alumnae.”
Like Nancy, Diane was looking forward to catching up
with classmates and other Sweet Briar alumnae at Reunion.
“Being back on campus is always a homecoming and an
opportunity to recharge my emotional batteries,” she says.
The Outstanding Alumna Award was established in
1968 by President Anne Gary Pannell as “The Sweet Briar
College Alumna Award in Honor of the Class of 1910.” Up
to three awards per year are given to alumnae who graduated
at least 15 years ago to recognize outstanding service to Sweet
Briar in a volunteer capacity. Nominations are invited from
any member of the Sweet Briar family: students, alumnae,
faculty, administration, staff, and members of the alumnae
board and the College Board of Directors. ■

NSA” special (not a speaking part
though). She plays indoor soccer and
hangs out with her Earls (her 2 yr old
and her husband). Donyele is looking
forward to the Reunion!
Emily Johnston is still living in London,
England, and writing her successful
fashion blog, Fashion Foie Gras. She
was chosen by Coach to design a bag
especially for a blogger, which they successfully sold out of in 24hrs! She also
collaborated with an artist that was
sponsored by Peroni beer.
Maria Thacker Goethe married Patrick
James Goethe of Savannah, Ga., on
11/6/11 in Old San Juan, P.R. Bridesmaids included Kelly Monical
Goossens, Lori Smith Nilan, Denise McDonald Gentry, Brook Tucker Buck,
Sonya Truman, and Ashley Johnson
McGee ’03. Maria was promoted to director of operations for Georgia Bio, the
nonprofit life sciences trade association
for Ga. Patrick is a Senior Audit Manager for Deloitte. The couple resides in
Atlanta with their dog Cutter.
Corinne Wieland Zeruto and husband
are expecting a baby girl in Feb. and
they’re very excited.
Christi Rose Hart and her family still
live in Richmond, Va. She’s still practicing law and stays busy with work and
her 2 girls. Youngest, Kinsley, turned 1
in Dec., and her oldest, Kendall, will be
5 in March! They look forward to Reunion!
Melissa Rudder is living with her fiancé
Jon Garber of Brooklyn, N.Y. They welcomed son Shaine Davis on 1/13/12.
She’ll be returning to her job in Manhattan as director of catering for Financier
Patisserie in late April. She’ll be at Reunion too!
Misa Sarmento got engaged on
2/16/12 to Rob Francis (University of
MD ’01)! She’s working as a physician’s
assistant at Chesapeake Urology Associates, and Rob works at Accuvant, an
information security company. They’re
planning for fall ’12 wedding.
Denise McDonald Gentry and her husband Temple (HSC ’03) welcomed Graham McDonald on 4/20/11. The 3 of
them attended Maria Goethe’s wedding
in P.R.
Kelly Monical Goossens married Dustin
Goossens in Atlanta, Ga., in June and
had a family wedding/honeymoon trip to
St. Lucia. Dustin’s band, Six to the
Wheels, has a new album out with the
help of Kelly’s company, Four Records
Music.
Lori Nilan is happy now that she has
gotten back into running. She and
Brook Buck took a road trip from N.C.
to Fla. to celebrate Maria Goethe’s upcoming nuptials. On the way down they
stopped in St. Augustine, Fla., and went
on many outlet mall tours as well as a
great ghost tour; had fun at Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Universal
Studios with Maria Thacker Goethe and
Kelly Monical Goossens; and stopped
on the way home in Savannah, Ga. She
and husband Andrew (HSC ’01) had a
great time in San Juan, P.R., for Maria
Goethe’s wedding. She’s excited about
reunion and can’t wait.
Lastly, I also had a great time on our
road trip to Fla. and loved the Wizarding
World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios! Puerto Rico was great! Nursing is
going well and our floor continues to

59

stay busy. Trey was promoted to assistant vice president in Bank of America’s
international corporate tax dept. only after being there less than a year! I’m
looking forward to the Reunion! Hope
y’all are there and remember to donate!

2003
Courtney Arnott Silverthorn
152 Clubhouse Dr. SW, Apt 203
Leesburg, VA 20175
courtney.silverthorn@gmail.com
Erin Keck Walsh, husband Terry, and
twins Annalise and Keira (3) welcomed
a new baby girl, Brienne Davis Walsh on
8/3/11. She travelled to Nashville,
Tenn., in 11/11 to visit Virginia Fowler
Voigt ’04 for her baby shower, and saw
Anne Bostain Legum in Virginia Beach
this fall. Erin, Anne, and Christy Rose
Hart ’02 celebrated Samm Grist’s birthday in Richmond, Va.
Danielle Ross Oberg welcomed Nora
Anne to the family on 9/27/11! Her
husband, Brian, left in Jan. for a 6month detachment to Bahrain with the
Navy, and Danielle is juggling a full time
job, the baby, and 3 animals. She’s
looking forward to catching up with
Megan Doughtie, Virginia Uchello Lyon,
and Carrie Deshazor soon.
Sara Sims is expecting a baby 8/2/12.
Courtney Yerdon Gleason is expecting
her first 7/4/12.
Bobbi Conklin Lampron spent a week
with Becca Gheen McMillan in Edmonds, Wash., helping her with the new
baby, Lucy Gray McMillan, born on
2/13/12. Bobbi and Becca also vacationed together in Cancun, Mexico last
summer with their husbands, and Becca
attended Bobbi’s wedding the year before that at the Greystone Castle in
Canastota, N.Y.
Jenny Neureuther Weitz accepted a
tenure track position 8/11 in astronomy
with Paradise Valley CC in Phoenix, Ariz.
She got married 11/11 at the Desert
Botanical Gardens; in attendance (and
holla holla-ing) were Alexis Kovacs ’02,
Christine Nail, Jennifer Temple Mangrum, Paula Brice ’02, Krista Schuler
Ziegenfuss, Katie Kirkwood ’04, and
Mariana Lazarova ’05. Jenny roomed
with Mariana in 1/12 at the American
Astronomical Society Meeting in Austin,
Texas, and got to see her present her
research on broad absorption line
quasars.

2004
Virginia Wood Susi
7975 Dunstable Cir.
Orlando, FL 32817
ginnysusi@gmail.com
sbc2004@gmail.com
Kelli Bergmann Thomasson and Will
welcomed their new baby girl, Eleanor
Staton on 6/17/11. Kelli works for Virtual Virginia as an online instructor
teaching AP psychology and AP European history.
Ginny Wood Susi and Phil are expecting
their first child in March.
Misty Vandergriff Forsberg and Adam
are expecting their 3rd son in Feb.
Bre Leibering is still teaching high
school English in Richmond, Va. She

SWEET BRIAR MAGAZINE | SBC.EDU

spent the summer roadtripping across
most of the U.S. She’s running the Virginia Beach Rock N Roll Half Marathon
in support of the Leukemia and Lymphona Society in Sept. She’s running in
honor of family members as well as
Mary Davis Blood’s father.
Jozanne Summerville is in D.C. She’s
ready to finish the final semester of her
master’s program at UMD. In between
family projects, classes, and Navy cost
estimating, she gets to chat with Ginny
Wood Susi, Sascha Rogers, Nicole Basbanes, Diana Marshall, Brandy Harman
and Erica Midkiff ’03.
Diana Marshall has moved back to
Bass River, Mass., on Cape Cod with
her parents after canceling her engagement and wedding this spring. She
spent a nice vacation with Peter and
Schyler Ellis Burke in W.V. in April. She
had a successful gallbladder surgery in
April, and in July started Remicade infusions for her Crohns disease, which are
going well.
Brienna McLaughlin Pruce loves painting and teaching yoga while traveling Europe with her husband. She can be
found at http://brienna.net and at local
Cambridge, U.K. art shows.
Virginia Fowler Voigt welcomed VirginiaAnne Rose Voigt into the world on
1/12/12. Rosie looks forward to her
first SBC trip this summer on a trip back
to Va. to visit family and friends. Erin
Keck Walsh ’03 came to Nashville,
Tenn., to attend the baby shower in Oct.
and visited before the arrival of Rosie.
Seana McGuffey is living in Virginia
Beach. She works at Dominion Enterprises for the Employment Guide division. Daughter Caroline is 2.
Erin Coleman lives in Los Angeles,
Calif., with her 2 dogs and her girlfriend,
Lizzie. She joined SAG. Erin travelled to
Berlin and Munich to attend Oktoberfest
’11.
Sarah Russ Warner runs a horse farm
outside of Charlotte, N.C. She and husband Wray spend their summers in
Colo. at the 4UR Ranch, a fly-fishing
guest ranch, where he works as the executive chef.
Katherine Boyle Chamrin trained and
completed Ironman Louisville in
8/2011. While in Louisville she caught
up with Lisa Moore.
Nicole Basbanes works at a public library, having left her work at a private
school, but not without a souvenir: a
man who is now her fiancé, Walter
William “Billy” Claire III, whom she met
there. He proposed to her on 9/9/11,
and they plan to marry in June 2012.
Megan Owens Thompson and husband
Mike expect their first son, Aidan
Michael, on 5/19/12. Megan and Mike
are still living in Charlotte where she’s
enjoying her 4th year as a middle school
counselor at Cannon School, an independent school in Concord. They plan
on moving back to Wilmington, N.C., after Aidan is born.
Sarah Barrett is enjoying life with her
husband in N.Y.C., and opened an online jewelry shop at copperheadcreations.etsy.com, where she’ll be featuring a few pink and green designs.
Schyler Ellis Burke, husband Peter and
their children, John and Victoria, welcomed a new baby girl, Marin Elizabeth
Burke, born 12/6/11. Godmother to
Marin is Diana Marshall. Schyler

spends her time at home raising the
children. Her oldest son John started
Montessori in Jan.
Chasity Clarke Miller and husband Avery are enjoying life in their new home
with daughter Finley Avery Miller, born
12/26/11. Chasity enjoyed the opportunity to see Autum MatysekSnyder Fish
and Casey Poore Flippin ’05 at her baby
shower hosted by Sarah Parson Breeden ’05 on 11/5/11, in Richmond. Chasity enjoys working at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts as a major gifts
officer in the Development Office.
Jessica Porter Sadeq married Fady on
10/7/11 at Bluemont Vineyard in Bluemont, Va. Her matron of honor was
Kerry Keins Mutschelknaus and her
bridesmaids were Heather Shumaker,
Caitlin Webber Mazzucca, and Andrea
Stassi. Stephanie Gleason Peppler,
Kirkland Wohlrab, and Anne Mohana attended the wedding.
Leila Smith, Katie Barnette-Whisenant,
Christina Chubb, Caroline Ogilvie, Kate
Lawson, and Lara Zvirbulis all got together in Charleston, S.C. last June for
a mini reunion that they try to do once a
year. Leila had her first baby, Caroline
Lilly, born 12/6/11.
Sascha Rogers lives and works in the
D.C. Metro area in Va. She’s been working as a pediatric occupational therapist
for 4 years, loves it. She transitioned to
a new private practice, and is expanding
her realm to include treating infants and
toddlers in the home health setting or
Early Intervention. She still keeps in
close contact with C.M. Burroughs, Lauren Byrne, Jozanne Summerville, and
Karen Story McKenzie. They’re planning
a weekend getaway or a “Sweet Retreat” at the Chocolate Spa at the Hotel
Hershey this summer.
Sara Gredler lives and works in Austin,
Tex., and is the editor of The Chisholm
Trail, the Williamson County Genealogical Society quarterly journal. Working on
a new presentation on the War of 1812
and another presentation on organization of genealogy “stuff.” Visited Jessica Carter in Oklahoma City and had a
great time catching up with SBC memories!
Maria Kitchin married Preston Moore in
Virginia Beach on 6/25/11.
Andrea Stassi is currently living in Newport Beach, Calif. She works as an Environmental Regulatory Analyst/Scientist
and is a member of the team responsible for conducting biological impact
studies for the proposed Calif. High
Speed Train. On the weekends, she volunteers at the Pacific Marine Mammal
Center, a rescue/rehabilitation center
for seals and sea lions.

with 24 classmates in attendance. We
SMASHED our class goals for giving and
now hold the record for 5th reunion giving as well as the participation award.
Ivey Tabor Godfrey lives in Wake Forest
and is a part-time graphic artist and
stay-at-home mom of 3, Caroline (3),
Gabriel (18 mos.), and Levi (6 mos.)
Ivey just got back from a Mexico vacation and is looking into fundraising options so her husband can minister to local youth while he works on his Ph.D.
Jennifer Jones Collins is still living in
Germany with her husband and teaching
7th grade science at Heidelberg Middle
School. She and her husband are enjoying Europe and spent their anniversary
in Tuscany and Thanksgiving in Paris.
They’re excited about their first child,
William Thomas Collins, due 4/6/12!
Charis Lease-Trevathan Chase writes
that 2011 has been a busy year for her
family with several moves thanks to
husband Chris Chase’s job in the Army:
From Savannah to Augusta, Ga., and finally to Clarksville, Tenn.; where they
bought their first home. On 9/20/11,
they welcomed their daughter Verity
Catherine Chase. She’s enjoying staying
home with Verity.
Jenny Lynn landed her dream job this
past Aug. working for Colonial Williamsburg as a public sites interpreter! She’s
living in one of the little restored
kitchens in the historic area, which is
about the size of a Carson single, come
to think of it.
Chris Howe proposed to Cole Shanholtz
at the Trevi Fountain on a student travel
trip she was leading last summer. The
wedding will take place in Athens, Ga.,
on 10/6 at the farm where her horse
Fidias is boarded. Susan O’Brien will be
maid-of-honor, and Carlina Muglia ’07 is
a bridesmaid. Cole is teaching Latin in
north Georgia and next year will be moving to wherever Chris is accepted to
work on his MFA in new media art.
Hilary Marlene Quesenberry married
Timothy Robert Quesenberry on
10/2/11 at Wintergreen Vineyards.
Maggie Murray Watts welcomed a baby
boy Callum McCauley Watts on 2/3/12.
Joanna Wood graduated from law school
in May 2011, passed the Virginia Bar
Exam, and is now working as an associate at a small litigation firm in northern
Va. She was happy to see former SBC
classmates, Tamra Scott and Lisa Mollica Moore, at Lisa’s wedding back in
May.
Courtney Pyrtle was married last June
and is taking her pre-lims this spring. If
all goes well she’ll be starting her dissertation at this time next year.
Lauren Martin Pinion married Chase
Pinion in Marietta, Ga.; Cara Cherry,
Tabitha Dixon Ward, and Kassie Caola
’07 were bridesmaids and Melissa
Massy made the journey from Colo.
Laura Ann Toussaint is still enjoying life
in D.C. with her husband and dog, Mason. She saw Olivia Ungerer, Hollylane
Riley, Sara Coffey, and Shanthi
Ramesh for a weekend when they all
came back to town.
Sara Coffey finished her master’s degree at the U. of St. Andrews in Nov.
and has had a fun time catching up with
friends since then. She’s seen Jane
Rangel, Hollylane Riley, Shanthi
Ramesh, Olivia Ungerer, Tori LaBrosse,
Laura Ann Toussaint, Laura Pearson ’04

and Christine Rangel ’01.
Michelle Badger was elected to the
town of Plymouth School Committee
(Plymouth, Mass.) and has loved the
chance to get involved in her town to
help create policy for the students. She
started a new job in Feb. working at
Mass. Maritime Academy as the assistant director of advancement and has
had many opportunities to travel. She
spent a couple of days in San Francisco
with Lisa Renfrow ’04 and saw Nicki
Brandt; a weekend at Cat Cox’s (’08)
farm Spider Hill with Jenn Wiley
Schmidt, Rebecca Olander ’09, Megan
Behrle ’09, and Beth Farnsworth Warner
’05; N.J. for Caroline Chappell Hazarian
’09 wedding with Victoria Chappell Harvey; and to N.Y. to see Kate Dobie. A
reminder from Michelle: We did such a
great job at Reunion last May, so don’t
forget to make your gift to the Annual
Fund this year to continue to support
Sweet Briar!
Victoria Chappell Harvey is loving life in
northern Japan. She’s teaching English
and loves spending time with her Japanese students. This spring she hopes to
travel to South Korea with some friends.
She’ll be living in Japan until May 2013
and hopes that maybe some more of
her SBC friends come to visit!
Colleen Karaffa Murray and Brandon,
Rosie (3) and Scarlett (18 mos.) moved
to Richmond, Va. She was so sorry to
miss Reunion, but they moved that
weekend! She was sorry to hear about
Julia Lockwood, with whom she’d done
some traveling in Scotland during their
junior year.
Shanthi Ramesh graduated from medical school in May 2011 and moved to
Chicago to begin residency in Obstetrics
and Gynecology at Northwestern University’s Prentice Women’s Hospital. She
plans on pursuing fellowship training in
Family Planning following residency. In
other news, she and fiancé Chris Barker
finally set a wedding date for Oct. 2012
in their new city!
Kerri Faust Monsalve moved to Bogota,
Colombia, and is a 2nd grade teacher in
a biligual school. She was married in
Nov. and celebrated the big event with
SBC friends Melissa Massy, Nicki
Brandt, and Julie Drake. She and husband Felipe also work in a Christian ministry with indigenous university students
in Bogota.
And I, Nicki Brandt, spent the past 5
mos. working for The Marine Mammal
Center in Calif. One of the major highlights was becoming comfortable restraining sea lions for veterinary procedures and being involved in the
stranding response for a gray whale in
the Klamath River! I’m currently down in
Fla. to work another winter season with
Fla. Fish and Wildlife doing aerial surveys studying the endangered North Atlantic right whale. After losing my mom
to cancer last year, it’s nice to be
nearer to family. While out in Calif., I
had a chance to catch up with Julie
Drake, and on the cross-country trip visited with Mallory Sherwood ’09, Rebecca Penny ’08, Tasha Marie Purcell
’04, Kimberly Gibson ’05 and Melissa
Massy.
For those who haven’t heard, sadly, Julia Lockwood passed away Sun.,
1/22/12, after a lengthy battle with
cancer (Metastatic Ewings’s Sarcoma).

A student of International Affairs as well
as English and Creative Writing, Jules
spent time studying at St. Andrew’s University and loved to travel. She was a
talented rider, a devoted friend, and a
courageous woman. To quote a classmate, “She embodied the SBC motto
Rosam Quae Meruit Ferat.”
Please keep us updated with goings-on.
If you’d be interested in guest-writing for
a class blog on any subject of interest,
please let me know. Can’t wait to catch
up with all the Sweet Briar ladies!

2007
Emily Olson
382 E. Scripps Rd.
Lake Orion, MI 48360
emilynicoleolson@gmail.com
The class of 2007 is getting ready to
celebrate our 5th Reunion. It’s hard to
believe it’s been that long, but we’re all
so excited to see each other soon!
Laura Schaefer writes, “I married Devon
Grace on 9/24/2011 in Portland, Ore.,
with Margaret Loebe ’06 and Rachel
Reynolds as bridesmaids. Jennifer Wolf,
Maggie Patrick, Natalie Pye, and Angelica Shea-Lamke ’06 celebrated with me.
They all, including Caitlin Cashin, surprised me with a new class ring just before the rehearsal dinner! Their ode to
me and the painted cups made my wedding so special. I can’t wait to see
everyone at Reunion! I still enjoy my job
at ONPRC as sustainability manager. I
was able to represent Sweet Briar at a
college fair here in Portland this fall. Devon and I bought a house in Beaverton,
Ore., and are busy settling in.
Maggie Saylor Patrick writes, “Martin
and I have moved home to Ohio, where
I’ve started working in Development at
Miami U. and Martin is a librarian at the
local public library. I’m working on my
M.A. in political science. We’re adopting
a greyhound in March.” In Sept., Maggie
flew to Portland for Laura Schaefer’s
wedding and loved getting to visit the
city and spend time with Jennifer Wolf,
Rachel Reynolds, Natalie Pye, and Margaret Loebe ’06. She says, “One of the
highlights of the weekend was our surprise gift to Laura—a new class ring,
identical to the one she tragically lost in
D.C. a couple years ago. We even wrote
her a new ode and had painted cups to
celebrate the weekend! I can’t wait for
what I know will be the best Reunion
ever!
Heidi Trude received a grant from the
Warren County Educational Endowment
to purchase mini laptops for her students to use in her classroom. She
writes, “The Northern Virginia Daily featured an article about the grant I received and how my students are using
technology to communicate with our sister school in France. You can find the article online at www.nvdaily.com.” Heidi
is excited about Reunion!
Danielle Briggs-Hansen continues to
work at Systems Planning and Analysis
and is living in Alexandria, Va. She attended the wedding of Elsa Mittelholtz
Cannon in Oct. along with fellow alumnae Renee Modzelewski ’06, Francine
Ely Cannon ’75, Margaret Barnes ’08,
Kelsey Jeffers, and Gwen Reyes ’06.
Kelsey Jeffers is living in Charleston,
S.C., working for the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps on NOAA Ship

More classnotes online
sbc.edu/magazine
Nancy Foster and loving it. She writes,
“I’m really bummed that I’ll miss our reunion, but I’ll be in the Atlantic Ocean
doing a project for Grey’s Reef National
Marine Sanctuary.”
Elsa Mittelholtz Cannon married Scott
Cannon in a beautiful wedding in Oct.
2012. There was a surprise appearance
by Slapshot, the mascot to for the couple’s favorite hockey team, the Washington Capitals. She writes, “The best part
was the mini-reunion!” Elsa is very excited for the upcoming class of 2007
Reunion in May.
Jennifer Dick says, “I’m hoping to attend Reunion in May, and I’m so excited
to see everyone!”
Morgan Lorraine Roach works at The
Heritage Foundation in Washington,
D.C., as a Foreign Policy Research Associate, where she conducts research and
analysis on transatlantic relations,
Africa and the Middle East. Her research on the “Arab Spring” resulted in
her travel to Bahrain in Jan. Morgan is a
blogger for the Foreign Policy Association and an Africa policy staffer to Governor Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
Lynnsey Brown writes, “I got engaged to
Brent Wilhelm on Christmas Eve. We’re
thrilled and look forward to celebrating
with family and friends.”
Rachel Moretta joined BHP Billitons
Land Dept. and is working on projects in
south Texas and Ark. developing shale
opportunities. She writes, “I’m heading
back to school in July to get my PLM degree (Professional Landman). I’ve been
able to go on a few adventures in the
past year since my parents moved to
Qatar, that, tiny little country attached
to Saudi Arabia.”
Emily Wiley just bought her first house
in Warwick, N.Y. She writes, “Anyone in
the area is welcome to stop by! I still
ride and show, and I work for the DOJ. I
keep up with Jo Gormley, also still riding
and going to vet tech school in N.C.
Can’t wait to see everyone at Reunion!
I, Emily Olson, was able to meet up with
Eleanor O’Connor in Chicago for a long
weekend in Jan. We had a blast exploring the city. While there I ran into Dr.
Jonathan Green and Lynn Buck in the
Art Institute, which was a pleasant surprise. I continue to work various theatre
jobs in the Detroit metro area including
teaching, costuming, performing, and
serving on the board of directors for a
local community theatre. I too am looking forward to our reunion. I can’t wait
to be back on campus and get a chance
to catch up with all my classmates in
person!

2008
Kathryn Purnell Mills
6004 Treyburn Pl.
Glen Allen, VA 23059-5483
kpmills@affiniongroup.com
Anne Lojek became engaged to Jared
McQueen while traveling to French Polynesia in July 2011. They will be married
in Miami, Fla. in April 2012. They currently reside in Fairfax, Va.

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2009
Julia McClung
5111 Block House Ct. Apt 728
Charlotte, NC 28277
Julia.McClung1@gmail.com
Amber Lubeck: After working for an education non-profit in D.C., I’m living in Budapest and getting my master’s in international relations and security studies.

2010
Alaina Cavelier McKee
5939 W Friendly Ave., Apt. 44K
Greensboro, NC 27410
acmckee@uncg.edu
Lots of recent changes! Madeline Davis
got engaged on 2/6 to Brandon Brewer
and plans to wed in Oct. Melissa
Ramos moved to Charlotte, N.C., and
works for WorldOne Research. Temma
Clark-Braverman also moved. She
works for CH2M Hill, in Northern Va., as
a project controls specialist. Andria
Pasquel has a new job as an enrollment

consultant at K12, an education company in Herndon, Va.
Lisa Weisbrich works at Aetna as a new
business underwriting analyst for the
Northeast region. She’s working in the
corporate headquarters in Hartford,
Conn. Jennifer Lundy is working for Congressman Issa on Capitol Hill, and is a
new member of the Junior League of
Wash. Emma Parker works for the
Earthquake Commission in Wellington,
New Zealand. In Jan., Janika Carey
started work at Media, Marketing and
Communications at SBC as a staff
writer/marketing specialist.
Celeste Rustom is a second lieutenant
in the Army and was stationed at Ft.
Leonard Wood, Mo., until March. Celeste met with Rachael Vaughan for
New Year’s, and they had a lot of fun together in Fernandina Beach. Rachael
still works for Outward Bound. She says,
“I have the amazing opportunity to work
with at-risk youth and juvenile delinquents. I take them out on a river for 20
days teaching them anger management,
decision-making skills, leadership, and
responsibility.”

Sarah Fishback is a member of the
2011/13 class of the Darley Flying
Start program. This program is a 2-year
management trainee program focused
on the thoroughbred industry. Sarah is
based in Lexington, Ky., and has already
completed stints in Ireland and England.
After Ky., she’ll be going to Australia
and Dubai before graduating next July in
Ireland. In July, Ashley Carroll will be
traveling to Athens, Greece. She also attended a couple of mini-reunions, one
this past summer with Amanda
McKenzi and one in Dec. with Liz Masonis ’11 and Laura Schein ’11.
Britt Schneider is finishing her first year
at Cumberland School of Law, at Samford U. in Birmingham, Ala. Jessica Pilgrim is in her 2nd year of law school.
Last semester she made the Moot
Court Board, and honor society at her
school. She placed in the top 8 in the
Copeland, Cook, Taylor & Bush Appellate Advocacy Competition. In March,
Jessica went to New Orleans to compete in the Judge John R. Brown Admiralty Moot Court Competition.
Sarah Packard: I’m teaching English in

Jinhae, South Korea. I work at a private
school, love it! I plan to either renew my
contract here, or travel to other Asian
cultures teaching English, as well as to
visit during vacations.
Allison Garrison and Alaina McKee are
in their final semesters at UNC at
Greensboro. Allie will graduate in May
with her M.A. in Spanish and will be getting married on 6/2/12. Currently she’s
a teaching assistant for a Spanish 101
course at UNC at Greensboro and a
Spanish teacher for Lango Kids Inc.
Alaina will graduate in May as well, with
her M.A. in history and a concentration
in museum studies.

Annie Colpitts '11 is the
full-time general manager
at the Firehouse Theatre
Project in Richmond, Va.,
where she began as a
volunteer and moved into
the position when it
became available. “I
attribute my ability to
balance my priorities to
my experience at Sweet
Briar,” she says.

Homecoming Weekend is October 19-21. Alumnae and parents are invited to
campus to celebrate a weekend with students, faculty, staff and College
administrators. Guests will enjoy lectures, athletics games,
volunteer training, and a community picnic.
More information will be available soon.
Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss this special weekend!